USA: InBev is close to find a buyer for Latrobe Brewing Co.
InBev USA, owner of Latrobe Brewing Co., said June 08 it may be close to a deal to sell the Westmoreland County brewery. An InBev spokeswoman confirmed that a letter of intent is being negotiated with an undisclosed potential buyer, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posted June 09.
"Somebody wants to buy the brewery. We have not signed anything, but we have had conversations with the union, telling them a letter of intent is in progress," said Brenda Williams, spokeswoman for InBev, which is based in Norwalk, Conn.
Williams would not identify the potential buyer because of confidentiality agreements, and she cautioned that the deal could fall apart.
Beer industry observers didn't venture any guesses as to the identity of the suitor, but one said whoever is interested likely has a plan to utilize the brewery's full beer-making capacity.
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. President Joseph Piccirilli is scheduled to meet today with representatives of U.S. Rep. John Murtha in Johnstown to discuss options concerning Latrobe Brewing. He has said in a statement that he agreed to the meeting because he was asked, but that his first priority is bankrupt Pittsburgh Brewing.
Last month, InBev USA, a division of Belgian brewing giant InBev NA, announced the sale of the Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light brands to Anheuser-Busch Cos. for $82 million.
The sale did not include the production facilities, which are scheduled to close July 31 if no buyer is found. That would leave about 200 workers jobless. InBev has filed notice with the state that the shutdown would be permanent. Anheuser-Busch said it plans to brew Rolling Rock in Newark, N.J.
"I have no idea who it is. It's been known there were interested parties all along. Right now, it's still speculation. It could still fall through," said George Sharkey, business agent for Local 144 of the International Union of Electronics Workers/Communications Workers of America, which represents about 154 workers at Latrobe Brewing.
"I know there were a lot of entities who looked at Latrobe Brewing, but most of the ones I know passed. Manufacturing is a game of scale, and it's all about capacity utilization. Whoever is interested has some angle on how to fill the plant's beer-making capacity," said Ben Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights in Nanuet, N.Y.
Latrobe Brewing produced about 852,000 barrels of beer last year at a facility that has the capacity to produce 1.3 million barrels, due in large part to a high-capacity bottling system introduced in 2003.
Speculation over potential suitors has included Boston Beer Co., maker of Sam Adams beer. Officials there could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Boston Beer is probably out of the running, however, because the company is proceeding with plans to build a new brewery in Assonet, Mass., said Andy Crouch, a monthly columnist for Beverage Magazine, in Boston.
"If I've learned one thing, it's that these kind of deals tend to unravel. But it's hopeful news for workers in Latrobe," Crouch said.
Crouch said Pittsburgh Brewing Co.'s bankruptcy does not make it a viable candidate to acquire the brewery, he doubts Anheuser-Busch would revisit the situation.
"They already had one bite at the apple and passed," he said.
Wstecz
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