Craft Brew Alliance to Sell Kona Brand in Hawaii To Facilitate Its Sale To Anheuser-Busch

As the Anheuser-Busch (A-B) acquisition of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) continues to go through the regulatory process, CBA will sell off its stake in the Kona Brewing operations that are located within the state of Hawaii. PV Brewing Partners, a team of investors with decades of combined beer industry and business growth expertise, will purchase this portion of the Kona brand from CBA.

This past November, A-B agreed to purchase the remaining shares of CBA that it did not already own at $16.50 per share. The arrangement with PV Brewing is contingent on the closing of the proposed expanded partnership between CBA and A-B, at which point PV Brewing will purchase CBA’s Kona Brewing operations in Hawaii. This purchase will include the two brewpubs and the forthcoming 30,000-square-foot Kona brewery and canning operation slated to open this year in Hawaii. However, A-B will control the Kona brand in both the remaining 49 states and internationally.

CBA brands include Widmer Brothers Brewing, Kona Brewing, Redhook Brewery, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Cisco Brewers, Omission Brewing Co., Square Mile Cider Co., and Wynwood Brewing Co.

“We are committed to working with regulators and facilitating the successful review and close of our expanded partnership with A-B,” said Andy Thomas, CEO of CBA, in a press release. “We are delighted to have found a strong buyer that will continue to nurture the spirit of the Kona brand in Hawaii and offer its employees, who will remain part of Kona’s Hawaii operations, further opportunities for growth and development.”

CBA and A-B continue to work collaboratively with regulators who are reviewing the proposed expanded partnership.

“While our shared vision for the expanded partnership between CBA and A-B did include CBA’s Hawaii operations, we are still optimistic about the ability of CBA and A-B to offer more consumers, in more communities, even more choices as a result of this expanded partnership,” said Marcelo “Mika” Michaelis, president, Brewers Collective, A-B, in a press release. “We are confident that PV Brewing will continue investing and driving economic growth in Kona’s communities in Hawaii.”

“In the same way that CBA carried on the legacy of what Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa built at Kona, our number one priority is supporting Kona’s future on the Islands and ensuring the success of the brand there,” said Dave Peacock, PV Brewing Investor, in a press release. “We are energized by this unique opportunity and are proud to support the continued growth of Kona in Hawaii with a new state-of-the-art brewery.”

PV Brewing is a firm formed by David Peacock and VantEdge Partners, an investment firm based in Kansas City led by Paul Edgerley and Terry Matlack. VantEdge, among other investments, owns 260 quick-serve restaurants, including Dunkin’, Taco Bell and Jamba and is part of the investment group that owns the Kansas City Royals. Mr. Peacock, former President of Anheuser-Busch, has partnered with VantEdge in other business ventures.

A-B expects the closing of the acquisition to occur no later than the end of 2020, after receipt of required regulatory clearance and satisfaction of other customary conditions.