KPS Created One of the Largest and Fastest Growing Independent Beer Companies in the United States
New York, NY (October 26, 2012) -- KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) announced today that it signed a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, North American Breweries Holdings, LLC (“NAB” or the “Company”), to Cervecerίa Costa Rica, S.A. (“CCR”), a subsidiary of Florida Ice and Farm Company, S.A., for $388 million in cash. NAB is one of the largest independently owned beer companies in the United States and the owner of a diverse portfolio of brands including Labatt, Genesee, Seagram’s Escapes, Magic Hat, Pyramid, the Original Honey Brown Lager, Dundee and MacTarnahan’s. NAB operates four state-of-the-art breweries and seven retail locations located in New York, Vermont, California, Oregon and Washington.
KPS formed NAB in February 2009 as a platform for investments and growth in the North American beer and malt beverage industries. At that time, KPS also announced NAB’s first three acquisitions: Labatt USA from a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev; substantially all of the assets of High Falls Brewing Company, LLC (now known as the Genesee Brewing Company); and a perpetual license for the Seagram’s Escapes and Seagram’s Smooth brands from Pernod Ricard USA, LLC. In 2010, NAB acquired Independent Brewers United, Inc, one of the largest craft brewers in the United States, and owner of the Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan's brand families of craft beer.
Raquel Palmer, a Partner of KPS, said, “In forming NAB, KPS did not buy or invest in a company; rather we created a new company that became one of the largest and fastest growing independent beer companies in the U.S. NAB is a complete validation of the KPS investment strategy of seeing value where others do not, buying right, making businesses better and creating value for our investors. We take immense pride in what NAB has accomplished.”
Ms. Palmer added, “We congratulate and thank the NAB management team for their extraordinary tactical execution of our vision, which resulted in the Company's significant revenue growth year after year and the eventual acquisition by a leading international strategic buyer.”
KPS also thanks the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and NAB’s craft union partners for their contributions toward the success of NAB.
Completion of the transaction, which is expected in the fourth quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions.
Jenner & Block served as legal counsel to NAB with respect to the transaction and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS.
UBS Securities, LLC acted as financial advisor to KPS and NAB with respect to the transaction.
About North American Breweries Holdings, LLC
North American Breweries Holdings, LLC ("NAB") is one of the largest independently owned beer companies in the United States. NAB brews, packages, imports, markets and sells its branded product portfolio through an independent network of wholesalers throughout the U.S. NAB’s portfolio of brands includes: the Labatt brands, the Genesee brands, Seagram’s Escapes, Magic Hat, Pyramid, the Original Honey Brown Lager, Dundee Ales & Lagers and MacTarnahan’s. NAB also performs contract brewing of beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on behalf of other companies. NAB is also the U.S. importer of Imperial from Costa Rica. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, NAB operates four breweries across the United States, including its flagship brewery, the Genesee Brewery in Rochester, NY, which is one of the largest and longest continually-operating breweries in the United States. For more information, please visit www.nabreweries.com.
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.4 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2023). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $20.3 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 48,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
