Soft drink giant Monster Beverage Corp. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the parent company of Comstock Park-based craft brewery Perrin Brewing Co.
The maker of Monster Energy plans to buy CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC for $330 million. CANarchy owns a portfolio of craft beer and hard seltzer companies, including Oskar Blues, which purchased Perrin in 2015.
Monster’s deal for CANarchy is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. In an announcement about the acquisition, Monster stated that CANarchy would function independently and its organizational structure would remain intact.
The deal grabbed the attention of the craft beverage community, marking the first time a large soft drink producer has entered into the beer market.
“This transaction provides us with a springboard from which to enter the alcoholic beverage sector,” Monster’s Vice Chairman and co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg said in a statement. “The acquisition will provide us with a fully in-place infrastructure, including people, distribution and licenses, along with alcoholic beverage development expertise and manufacturing capabilities in this industry.”
According to a report in industry publication Brewbound, the sale price was for 9-10 times EBITDA, but came at a loss for CANarchy’s private equity owner, HPS Investment Partners, a subsidiary of debt lender Highbridge Capital Management that took over the company from Fireman Capital.
The announcement specified that the deal does not include standalone restaurants owned by CANarchy. It’s unclear what that means for Perrin’s brewpub in Comstock Park. Officials at the company did not respond to requests for comment.
“The team at CANarchy is thrilled to be joining Monster,” said CANarchy CEO Tony Short. “We look forward to capitalizing on the combined expertise of Monster and CANarchy to further strengthen our current alcoholic product offerings, expand our product portfolio to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers and to grow our business.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated from its original form.
