InBev completed its $52bn purchase of Anheuser-Busch yesterday, making it the world's largest brewer and marking a rare victory for jittery dealmakers and investors as other proposed merger transactions continue to fall apart.

With an eye toward the credit crunch - which was already an issue when InBev and Anheuser cut their deal in July - InBev bound Anheuser and its bank lenders to relatively air-tight agreements. People close to the groups said the lack of escape routes for the parties involved helped push the deal across the finish line.