Read the latest beer industry financial news and reporting relating to investment, mergers and acquisitions. Explore the biggest deals, as well as what the financial future looks like for breweries in terms of capital availability, deal terms, lending, and the strategic marketplace in order to help shape your planning strategy for the short and medium term.
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Molson Coors has struck a deal to acquire spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail pioneer Atomic Brands, whose Monaco Cocktails entered the then-nascent space in 2012. The deal should come as no surprise, as it aligns with Molson Coors’ goals to expand its beyond beer portfolio, part of the Horizon 2030 plan CEO Rahul Goyal outlined earlier this year.
A pair of big red network distribution deals were announced in the last 24 hours. Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to purchase the distribution rights of its brands, as well as “certain craft/NA brands,” from Advance Beverage Company in Bakersfield, California. Meanwhile, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits inked a deal for independent A-B distributor Clare Rose on Long Island.
After a three-week sprint to finalize deals to acquire BrewDog’s business on three continents, Tilray Brands’ first order of business is to “stabilize the brand,” Tilray CEO Irwin Simon told Brewbound.
The craft-on-craft deals continue to roll in. Baltimore, Maryland-based DuClaw Brewing Co. has been acquired by River Horse Brewing Co. in Ewing, New Jersey.
Josh Landan is leading a craft brewery again. Landan, who founded the now defunct Saint Archer Brewery in 2013 and sold it within two years to MillerCoors, is now the CEO of Great Frontier Holdings, the newly formed parent company of Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon, and Wings & Arrow beyond beer offerings. Landan spoke with Brewbound about the merger, the combined company’s ambitions, potential future acquisitions and the contract brewing business.
Portfolio brand Wings & Arrow, whose brands include Ashland Hard Seltzer, Mucho Aloha Hard Lemonade, Villager Spirits canned cocktails and Wings & Arrow beer, is merging with Eugene, Oregon-based Ninkasi Brewing to form Great Frontier Holdings.
Constellation Brands is exiting the craft beer business. Constellation, which has found success with Mexican import brands Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, said it will divest of its craft and specialty division to refocus its efforts on its core brands. As such, Funky Buddha Brewery in Florida and Four Corners Brewing Co. in Texas will return to their respective original founders.
FX Matt Brewing Company and Flying Dog Brewery announced a deal Monday in which the New York legacy brand would acquire the Frederick, Maryland-based craft brewery and transfer all production to Utica, New York, later this summer. FX Matt CEO Fred Matt and new Flying Dog president Ben Savage shared details of the deal, the challenges Flying Dog has faced in the past and the opportunities ahead.
New York’s FX Matt Brewing Company has struck a deal to acquire Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland, the companies announced today. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Flying Dog’s production will begin shifting to FX Matt’s Utica, New York-based production facility over the summer with operations in Maryland expected to stop “sometime in August.”
Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Cidery (AMB) is returning to familiar ownership. Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber, founders of the Boone, North Carolina craft brewery, have agreed to purchase AMB from Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B), according to a press release.
More than 300 winners were honored during the Brewers Association’s (BA) 2023 World Beer Cup (WBC) during Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville this week. Guinness Baltimore Blonde – the signature offering of brewing operations at Diageo’s Relay, Maryland-based production facility – has become such a local icon that one Baltimore County official wants to invest $500,000 in a local brewer to keep the beer flowing, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Luxco, Inc., a subsidiary of Indiana-based whiskey giant MGP Ingredients, has acquired Penelope Bourbon for $105 million upfront, the company announced Monday. The deal also includes a maximum potential payout of $110.8 million by the end of 2025 if “certain performance targets” are achieved.
Stone Brewing must pay past rent on the brewpub it shuttered in Napa, California, in October 2021, according to a court ruling. Tilray-owned SweetWater Brewing will open two new branded bars at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in its hometown of Atlanta.