Have a hankering for a Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee or a Schlitz?
Well, the benefactor that owns the Pabst Brewing Company and its iconic brands has put the Milwaukee business up for sale, said a source with direct knowledge of the process.
The company’s brands represent a virtual who’s who of beers, including Ballantine, Colt 45, Lone Star, Olympia Genuine Draft, Piels, Schaefer, Schmidt, and Stroh’s. It is also one of the few private independent brewers left in the nation.
Pabst has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a buyer and has just sent sales books to prospective suitors. A buyer will need to pay about $300 million, according to sources.
The acquisition may make sense, even to the sober brewers and private equity firms who are considering it. Anheuser-Busch InBev and North American Breweries, which bought Labatt USA from InBev, are logical bidders.
The company owns the brands and contracts out its brewing to Molson, the Canadian beer giant.
The Pabst Blue Ribbon label has made quite a comeback lately. For the four weeks ended July 12, the company saw its case sales increase 21 percent compared to a year earlier, giving it a three percent share in the high-volume sub-premium market.
Pabst has become a hipster’s beer, with advertisements in such places as National Public Radio.