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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More dominos continue to fall as RNDC’s territory sell off continues. Leaders with Manhattan Beer & Beverage Distributors announced an agreement to acquire “distribution rights for a collection of wine and spirits brands” from RNDC’s New York joint venture with Opici Family Distributing.
Firestone Walker and Duvel USA have inked a “definitive agreement” to acquire the Stone Brewing brand from Sapporo USA.
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.
Stoup Brewing has shared plans to acquire Optimism Brewing, a fellow Seattle-based craft brewery.
As the Bud Light brand continues to lose sales and share amid conservative-led backlash over a one-off social media influencer partnership with a transgender woman, the company is now pledging financial support for its wholesaler partners, according to a 6K filing with the SEC.
The combination of two of New Jersey’s largest craft breweries is off. The transaction announced in April that would combine Cape May Brewing Company, the Garden State’s largest craft brewery, and Flying Fish, one of the oldest, is a no-go.
The wheeling and dealing between Classic Beverage and Scout Distribution continues in California. Classic Beverage of San Diego announced a deal on Friday to acquire Scout Distribution’s business in San Diego. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close by August 11, pending supplier approvals.
8th Wonder Brewery, Distillery and Cannabis has been acquired by Bayou City Hemp Company, a Houston, Texas-headquartered cannabis company.
E. & J. Gallo is continuing its acquisition streak with Bev, a Los Angeles-based canned wine and spritz brand.
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.
