Grey Eagle Distributors, the Anheuser-Busch wholesaler for St. Louis County, announced Monday it has completed the purchase of Illinois Distributing Company, an Anheuser-Busch wholesaler based in Belleville.

The acquisition, first announced in September, includes Illinois Distributing’s assets and sales territory, which includes most of St. Clair County, Monroe County, Collinsville and Granite City.

Grey Eagle will begin selling beer to retailers in the new territory immediately. With the acquisition, Grey Eagle’s sales territory will stretch from Monroe County to Gasconade County, Mo.

The company will now sell nearly 10 million cases of beer annually, making it one of the largest beer distributors in the Midwest and one of the larger Anheuser-Busch distributors in the country.

Approximately 90 percent of Illinois Distributing’s 85 full-time and part-time employees will be retained by Grey Eagle, the company stated in a press release.

Grey Eagle will also keep Illinois Distributing Company’s operations in Belleville.

As for sponsorships and other community relations efforts such as one that enable the Bud Light Brigade to exist, Grey Eagle spokesman Paul Byrne told the Republic-Times it was “too early to say anything” on that.