San Diego-based Stone Brewing owes its investor VMG/Hillhouse $464 million according to testimony by Stone CEO Maria Stipp in a court case against MillerCoors. In the lawsuit, Stone has claimed that the MC beer Keystone Light infringed Stone Brewing’s trademark when it rebranded the packaging in April 2017. Stone filed a lawsuit against MC in February of 2018.
The decline in sales in recent years may have led the company to consider selling, according to an article in Courthouse News Service. “Has MillerCoors’ infringement forced you to consider certain options you don’t want to,” a Stone attorney asked when questioning Stipp if Stone Brewing had considered selling the company. “Yes,” Stipp responded.
See the full report from Courthouse News Service here.