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Two Possible Buyers Emerge In Bass Sale

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bass
The UK’s Publican recently included a report from the Scotsman regarding the emergence of the two likeliest candidates to buy Bass from ABI.

A North American brewing giant and small regional UK brewer have emerged as the front-runners to buy beer brand Bass in this country .It is believed brewing major Molson Coors and Well’s & Young’s, based in Bedford in England, are favourites to land Bass as current owner Anheuser-Busch Inbev is understood to be considering a sale to want to focus instead on its premium lager portfolio, which includes Stella Artois, Beck’s and Budweiser. It declined to comment on what it called “market speculation” about a potential sale.

Let’s see how this plays out.

Pabst Deal Closes

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pabst
As of today, the Pabst deal is done. The Kalmanovitz Trust no longer owns Pabst and now C. Dean Metropoulos and his two sons are at the helm.

According to Harry Schuhmacher at Beer Business Daily:

In buying Pabst, Metropoulos is getting a variety of regional brands, some of which he may sell off, according to sources. Pabst owns Schaefer, Carling’s Black Label, Blatz, Colt 45 Malt Liquor, Schmidt, Special Export, Schlitz, Lone Star, Jacob Best, Ballantine, Falstaff, Rainier, Ice Man Malt Liquor, Silver Thunder Malt Liquor and Stroh’s Beer.

Of the portfolio, Pabst Blue Ribbon and to a lesser extent Lone Start are the diamonds in the rough. PBR is currently the fastest growing domestic beer brand of the top brands in IRI scans, up around 20% in the latest four weeks. The brand has been embraced by young adults with an anti-establishment bent, with a love of irony (I decline to say “hipsters” because that’s what everybody says, and I think it’s gone beyond hipsters). Pabst has proven masterful at what I’ve called un-marketing — that is, marketing without seeming to market, relying mainly on word-of-mouth. The recent Clint Eastwood flick Gran Torino didn’t hurt either.

Distributor we’ve talked to are guardedly optimistic about the sale, as Metropoulos clearly has “earned his chops turning around old brands,” as one distrib said in an email. Distribs are also glad that the decades-long uncertainty about the fate of Pabst is finally over. Of course, there is a change in control, which theoretically could put the brewer in play in some states, although I’m not sure that would be a priority at this point for a new owner wanting to minimize disruption. But you never know.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens next.

Inflatable Beer Mug Coolers

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ice-cooler
I don’t exactly know why this called to me, but for some reason it did. I’ve seen inflatable beer coolers before, but these seemed kind of cool to me. I guess I like the idea of putting the bottles or cans in a beer mug to cool them down. Like most people who take drinking seriously, I have a number of beer coolers of different sizes, shapes and materials. I also have three big keg tubs, too. But those you have to carry back from the beach or park or wherever remote location you’re hauling them to. With an inflatable one, you don’t have nearly as much to drag back home, which seems like a definitive advantage.

Anyway, the one I like best is from Europe, specifically Switzerland, and there’s one pretty similar available from England.

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I couldn’t find that one available in the U.S., but a different — though somewhat the same — inflatable mug cooler is available from eCrater and through Amazon.

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Schlafly Looking For A Buyer

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schlafly
In order to expand their business, St. Louis’ largest American-owned brewery — Schlafly Brewery and Taproom — is for sale. Well, perhaps not in the traditional sense. They’re looking for enough capital to grow the business while remaining involved in running the company. Neither co-founders, Tom Schlafly or Dan Kopman, have children interested in taking over the brewery so they figure it makes sense to sell now while they also need money for expansion. They also want very much for the business to remain local and are trying to figure out a way for employees of the brewery to either be the buyer or at least buy in to partial ownership so that the business stays local.

While no price has been disclosed, estimates range from $5 to 18 million, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. KDSK Channel 5 also has a version of the story.

We’ll most likely be seeing more of this kind of thing as the craft beer industry matures and some of the earlier players reach retirement age. We may indeed be entering the age of mergers and acquisitions for small breweries, as well as large.

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Schlafly co-founder Dan Kopman at this year’s SAVOR last month in Washington, DC.

SABMiller Eyeing Foster’s?

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With merger mania and big business dealings heating up lately — with Pabst, ABI’s British Brands & China investments — I almost forgot about Foster’s. But the Foster’s Group said Tuesday that it’s splitting up the divisions of the company and is looking for a buyer for the brewing portion. Business Week is now speculating that MolsonCoors is a likely candidate to buy Foster’s, given their desire to “become a top global beer producer.” MolsonCoors currently owns a 5% share of the Foster’s Group.

A-B InBev To Sell Off British Beer Brands

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abib
The Times of London is reporting that Anheuser-Busch InBev is looking for buyers to sell off some of its most iconic British beer brands, including Bass, Boddington’s and Flowers. In the article, Buyer Sought for Beer That Britain Forgot, it appears the asking price for Bass is £10-15 million ($15-21 million in dollars), though that apparently “excludes both the trademark and international rights.”

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But it doesn’t look good, overall. From the Times article:

Despite its fame and longevity, Bass is now a minuscule part of the world’s biggest brewer, with volumes equating to a tiny fraction of the amount sold in its heyday in the 1980s. The brand, now brewed under contract by Marston’s, a rival brewer, which owns Pedigree ale, has suffered from a combination of lack of marketing investment and falling consumer demand as its multinational owner has focused increasingly on its global lager brands.

Boddingtons, too, has declined under AB InBev’s hands. The brand was once a leading part of the old Whitbread Beer Company, but its fortunes have dwindled since the closure in 2005 of the Strangeways brewery in Manchester, where it had been brewed since the late 18th century.

Despite the long history of the brands that AB InBev is looking to sell, finding a buyer could prove tricky. Obvious suitors including Marston’s, Wells & Young’s, Molson Coors and C&C Group are understood to have ruled themselves out.

Pabst Sale Update

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pabst
Additional information about the recently announced sale of Pabst Brewing by billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos is seeping out, and again primarily the information is coming from Harry Schuhmacher, from Beer Business Daily (proving once again everyone in the beer business should subscribe to his daily newsletter).

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the sale price to Metropoulos is $250 million. They also claim that the “deal is ‘in its final stages’ and is being backed by GE Capital. MillerCoors will presumably continue to brew the beers for Pabst, since their contract isn’t up for renewal until 2015.”

Perhaps most frightening, and clear proof that Pabst won’t become a more sophisticated brand under the new management:

The Journal says that Metroupoulos’ two sons, Evan 29, and Daren 26, “are expected to play key roles at Pabst.” These two guys are men about town for sure. The New York Times society columnist describes meeting them at a party where they were lounging on a couch. When the writer didn’t know who they were, Evan reportedly said, “Where you been, man? I’ve been on David Letterman and Howard Stern … I’ve been with more chicks than any fat guy you know, except Pavarotti.”

Wow, classy. But then again, it is PBR. Beer Business Daily also had a lengthy update with more information yesterday that’s worth taking a look at.

Pabst Finds A Buyer

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pabst
Harry Schuhmacher, from Beer Business Daily, is reporting that at long last, Pabst Brewing may have finally found a buyer. The new buyer is C. Dean Metropoulos, formerly of Pinnacle Foods, a food brand giant that he sold last year for $2 billion.

For several years, Pabst has been owned by a non-profit charitable foundation in Northern California, the S&P Company of Mill Valley. The I.R.S. has been insisting since at least 1996 that S&P must sell off Pabst, but they’ve been unable to find a qualified buyer. As a result, the I.R.S. has been granting them extensions while they’ve continued to search for a buyer.

Harry’s take?

He is “adept at revitalizing neglected brands like Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Pam cooking spray and Dennison’s canned chili—and for getting shelf-space mileage out of stronger brands like Bumble Bee canned tuna. ‘I look at all kinds of acquisitions, but I narrow it all down to the strength of the businesses I am already in,’ Metropoulos says to Forbes. Sounds like the right man for the job.

UPDATE: The news from Beer Business Daily is now posted publicly for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.

7-11 Debuts Game Day Private Label Beer

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7-11
7-11, the largest convenience store chain in the U.S. with over 6,000 stores, sells a lot of beer, most of it from the big beer companies. In fact, they’re the third-largest beer retailer in the country. With more limited shelf space, C-Stores tend to focus on fast-moving brands and usually carry very few local or craft beer brands. So those stores have been one of the few outlets where space has not be eroding due to craft beer’s growing popularity. But, according to an announcement in Fortune magazine, that’s about to change, though not toward more craft beer. 7-11 has announced the release of their own private label beer, called Game Day. Apparently it’s a “premium beer selling at a budget price,” though further details were not forthcoming. While not yet confirmed by 7-11, it’s being reported that there will be two varieties of Game Day, Game Day Light and Game Day Ice and each will likely be sold in two package sizes, 12-pack cans and 24-oz. singles. Prices are expected to be between $6.99-$8.99 for 12-packs and between $1.49-$1.89 for singles, depending upon distribution and state specific costs, like taxes. The contract brewing is being done by City Brewing in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

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MillerCoors: Is A Global Merger Possible?

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millercoors
Several sources are pointing out a Reuters interview last week with Peter Swinburn, head of MolsonCoors. In that interview, Swinburn suggests that while he considers his company to be a “buyer,” he doesn’t discount the notion that MolsonCoors could be a takeover target. He further remarked that “SABMiller, Molson’s partner in the MillerCoors joint venture, would be a natural fit as a buyer.” While going on to say he doesn’t believe that will happen, this is, after all, how these types of things begin. A rumor that’s denied and discounted by all involved parties becoming a reality is nothing new, so you never know. Currently SABMiller is the 2nd largest global beer company and MolsonCoors in sixth. Though a merger wouldn’t eclipse A-B InBev at the top spot, it would move them closer together. Only time will tell.