Mergers & Acquisitions

As another Dry January comes to a close, non-alc online retailer and importer The Zero Proof is taking a bigger step into the rising category with funding from Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation, the U.S.-based venture arm of Asahi Group Holdings.

Smuttynose parent company Finestkind Brewing has acquired Wachusett Brewing in a deal that will unite two New England legacy craft beer brands.

Los Angeles-based Open Brewing has begun rolling its lager out in Southern California thanks in part to a business partnership with New Belgium Brewing. In addition to a minority investment, New Belgium contract brews Open’s beer, consults the brewery’s team and offers other “shared resources,” a New Belgium spokesperson told Brewbound.

Japanese brewing giant Asahi aims to reach 1 million hectoliters – more than 850,000 barrels – in production in the medium-term following its acquisition of Wisconsin contract producer Octopi Brewing. Victoria Segebarth, managing director of EMEA & Americas at Asahi Europe & International, discussed the company’s plans for Octopi’s facility in Waunakee, Wisconsin, the acquisition… Read more »

Japanese brewing giant Asahi announced it has struck a deal to acquire Waunakee, Wisconsin-based contract brewer Octopi Brewing.

Matagrano, an independent South San Francisco-based Anheuser-Busch distributor, has inked a deal to acquire Bottomley Distributing, which services Silicon Valley and the South Bay Area.

Martignetti Companies has closed on its acquisition of Quality Beverage, according to a press release. Financial terms of the deal, which was announced in April 2023, were not disclosed.

The deal environment within the craft brewing industry is “a bit slow” with “a lot of volatility, a lot of uncertainty,” which isn’t very conducive to dealmaking, Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Ryan Lake shared during the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference earlier this month.

The fallout surrounding the conservative-led boycott of Anheuser-Busch’s (A-B) Bud Light brand and the accelerated declines that ensued accounted for three of Brewbound’s top stories of 2023. The internal machinations at A-B, including a reshuffling of its craft division, also piqued Brewbound readers’ interests. As we close out the year, here’s a look back at the 10 most-read stories of 2023.

Ty Gilmore, president of Tilray Brands’ U.S. beer division, estimated that he receives around two to three calls a day from potential sellers looking to join the Canadian cannabis firm’s craft brewery platform.

Campari has committed to acquiring cognac Courvoisier from Beam Suntory for an initial price of $1.2 billion, amounting to the biggest deal in the Italian spirit group’s history.

Two Massachusetts breweries – Dorchester Brewing Company and Aeronaut Brewing Company – will merge next year under a new parent company, Tasty Liquid Alliance, the two companies announced today.

Lafayette, Colorado-headquartered Westbound & Down (W&D) has acquired Aspen Brewing and Capitol Creek Brewery from High Country Brewing LLC. The deal, which closed December 1, includes Aspen’s 7,000-barrel capacity production facility and both breweries’ brewpubs.

Craft Vermont is being sold to Farrell Distributing (a Molson Coors distributor) and Baker Distributing (an Anheuser-Busch house), in a transaction expected to close in February, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights.