In another big move in the consolidating beverage industry, Monster Beverage Corporation, maker of Monster Energy drink announced today the acquisition of CANarchy Brewery Collective. CANarchy includes Denver’s Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing Co. in Florida, Dallas’ Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Perrin Brewing Co. in Michigan and Utah’s Squatters and Wasatch breweries
The $330 million cash deal does not include the stand-alone restaurants that CANarchy currently owns. The deal is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of this year.
Monster, whose biggest shareholder is Coca-Cola, currently develops and markets energy drinks brands like Monster Energy, Burn Energy Drink and Full Throttle Energy Drink.
Most notable about the deal is the continuing trend of non-alcohol beverage companies buying into the beer, wine and spirits space as traditional boundaries between beverage categories continues to blur.
In the recent past, Coca-Cola Co has tied up with Constellation Brands to launch Fresca-branded ready-to-drink cocktails, while PepsiCo has partnered with Boston Beer Co. to launch a Mountain Dew-branded alcoholic beverage.
CANarchy was formed when Fireman Capital acquired Oskar Blues and Perrin in 2015 and has grown through acquisitions of additional craft breweries since then. It was perceived by many in the industry as a company designed to eventually sell. “This is also a far more modest exit than CANarchy originally sought,” according to Beer Marketers Insights. “At one time, its owners believed that rollup of assets would eventually lead to an IPO. And originally it sought far more than $330 mil.”
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