Gov. Matt Blunt has weighed in against InBev’s proposed buyout of Anheuser-Busch, telling economic development officials to explore every option to help the company fend off its new suitor.

   Calling the offer to buy Anheuser-Busch deeply troubling, Blunt conceded that he lacked any immediate way to block such a sale. He called the St. Louis-based brewer “a great employer, a great corporate citizen and the maker of great products that are enjoyed in Missouri and around the world.”

   “I am strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-Busch and today’s offer to purchase the company is deeply troubling to me,” Blunt said in a statement issued Wednesday night. “I have said that while I am supportive of action to prevent the sale there is no immediate tool available at the state level to block it.”

   InBev offered Wednesday to buy the company for $65 a share, or about $46 billion. Inbev, the world’s largest beer-maker, was formed by the 2004 merger of Belgium’s Interbrew and Brazil’s Ambev and produces beer under various labels, including Beck’s and Stella Artois.

   Anheuser-Busch, which produces Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and other brands, holds a 48.5 percent share of the U.S. beer market. It also owns half of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo and 27 percent of China’s Tsingtao.

   Anheuser-Busch, whose founding family members have previously opposed a sale of the company, gave no indication of whether that stance had changed.

   The company issued a statement saying its board would “evaluate the proposal carefully and in the context of all relevant factors, including Anheuser-Busch’s long-term strategic plan. The board will pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch’s stockholders.”

    The $65-a-share offer represented only a modest 11.4 percent premium over the stock’s $58.35 closing price.

   The combination of the two companies would create a beer giant with annual revenues of more than $100 billion.