Oasis Beverages, an international beer and beverage company, and TSG Consumer Partners will acquire Pabst Brewing Company in a transaction that values the company at $700 million to $750 million. Oasis Beverages will hold a majority equity interest in Pabst while TSG will own a minority interest. The Chairman of Oasis Beverages, Eugene Kashper, will serve as the CEO of Pabst and the company’s headquarters will remain in Los Angeles.
Pabst Brewing Company is North America’s largest privately held brewing company. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lone Star, Rainier, Ballantine IPA, Schlitz, Old Style, Stroh’s and Old Milwaukee. Pabst is currently owned by C. Dean Metropoulos & Co., a buyer and builder of consumer branded products, which acquired Pabst in 2010 for approximately $250 million. Pabst was founded in 1844 (www.pabstbrewingco.com).
“Pabst has a strong portfolio of authentic American brands including Pabst Blue Ribbon, Rainier, Lone Star, Old Style, Schlitz and National Bohemian, among others. We’re excited about the partnership with Eugene and the outlook for Pabst going forward,” said Brian Krumrei, managing director at TSG.
TSG Consumer Partners makes control and non-control investments of $15 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDAs of $3 million to $50 million where there is an opportunity to enhance value by extending brand, expanding distribution and/or improving operations. Since its founding in 1987, TSG has been an active investor in the food, beverage, restaurant, beauty, personal care, household and apparel & accessories sectors. The firm has $2.9 billion in equity capital under management and is headquartered in San Francisco (www.tsgconsumer.com).
Oasis Beverages produces beer, soft drinks and juices. According to the company, it is the leading independent brewer in Russia. The company was founded by Eugene Kashper in 2008 and has operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus (www.oasisdrinks.com).
“Pabst Blue Ribbon is the quintessential American brand – it represents individualism, egalitarianism, and freedom of expression – all the things that make this country great. The opportunity to work with the company’s treasure trove of iconic brands, some of which I started my career selling, is a dream come true,” said Mr. Kashper. “It will be an honor to work with Pabst’s dedicated employees and partner distributors as we continue to build the business. We intend to invest meaningfully in the organization, to continue strong marketing support for Pabst’s unique brands, and to drive new product innovations and renovations, such as the recent launch of Ballantine IPA.”
Mr. Kashper began his career in the beer industry in 1994 with The Stroh Brewery Company. Since then, Mr. Kashper has managed brewing companies in Eastern European and CIS countries and, as mentioned above, currently serves as Chairman of Oasis Beverages.
UBS Investment Bank is serving as financial advisor to Mr. Kashper. Perella Weinberg Partners and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) are serving as financial advisors to Pabst.
Ropes & Gray is representing TSG Consumer Partners in this transaction. The Ropes & Gray team included mergers & acquisitions partner Christopher Comeau, tax partner Lee Allison, benefits partner Renata Ferrari, finance partner Thomas Draper, real estate & environmental partner Peter Alpert, intellectual property transactions partner David McIntosh, antitrust counsel Deidre Johnson, and private equity associates Charles Boer, Sandy Boer and Daniel Cowan.
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-22-14