Spain & USA: Mahou San Miguel acquires 30% of Colorado’s Avery Brewing

One of Spain‘s leading beer brewers acquired a 30 percent stake in Avery Brewing Co. as part of a mutual decision to help the Boulder brewery‘s future growth, the Stock Daily Dish reported on November 12.

Mahou San Miguel and Avery Brewing announced the deal on November 12, with the Spanish brewer saying the partnership is part of its own vision to explore international opportunities by partnering with locals who know their markets.

“We share the commitment with the communities in which we are present, our long-term vision, concern for the sustainability and well-being of individuals and our aim of doing things right, placing the consumer always at the centre of our decisions,” Eduardo Petrossi, CEO of Madrid-based Mahou San Miguel, said in a statement. “This operation strengthens us as the driving Spanish brewer behind the craft sector and will reinforce our positioning in the United States.”

Financial terms were not disclosed. But Avery founder Adam Avery will continue to run the Boulder operation and now can tap the expertise of Mahou San Miguel as needed. Avery and his father, Larry, founded the company in 1993. The Averys are the only other investors and remain as majority owners.

“Dad and I like calling our own shots (but) with changes in industry and seeing some big deals go down, we decided that if the perfect partner did come our way, we should be prepared,” said Adam Avery. “We couldn‘t be more happy about finding the perfect partner in San Miguel. They have six shareholders. If people ask us if we are a family-owned business, we can say yes, we are owned by two families.”

Avery Brewing has won numerous honors and awards, including 12 medals from the Great American Beer Festival. One of its flagship beers is White Rascal, a Belgian-style white ale. In Boulder that would increase production to 85,000 barrels of beer a year. It also was named Colorado Brewery of the Year by The Denver Post in 2015.

The cash from Mahou San Miguel will fund “appreciation” bonuses for Avery‘s 191 employees, as well as the hiring of new workers, Avery said. Debt taken on during normal operations and the construction of a new $35 million brewery, restaurant and taproom in Gunbarrel will be paid down as well.

The company also plans to focus on sales and marketing to existing markets. Avery‘s beers are distributed in 39 states, but Avery said more than 70 percent of sales come from Colorado, Southern California and Texas.

“We are going to spend more money on going deeper than wider,” Avery said, also ruling out the idea of additional taprooms or restaurants.

The deal is expected to close in January 2018. It‘s similar to a deal Mahou San Miguel made in 2014 when it acquired a 30 percent stake in Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Mich. On Tuesday, Founders broke ground on its second taproom and brewery in Michigan.

11 November, 2019