VICTOR, N.Y., Nov. 16 (UPI) — Constellation Brands Inc., makers and importers of beer, wine and liquor, said Monday it would acquire California’s Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for $1 billion.
Sales of Ballast Point, a San Diego-based craft brewery, are expected to double over last year to 4 million cases, with net sales of $115 million. Constellation, based in Victor, N.Y., sought to add more beer brands to the list of beers it distributes, which includes Corona and Modelo.
The company also owns Robert Mondavi wines and Svedka vodka. It obtained Corona and a Mexican brewery for $5.3 billion when Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev was forced to divert certain properties in its takeover of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo SAB.
Ballast Point began in 1996 as a consortium of home brewers and makes beers highly regarded by enthusiasts.
The deal, expected to be completed by the end of the year, continues a recent trend of consolidations in the global beer industry. AB InBev purchased SABMiller PLC in a $107 billion takeover several weeks ago, pending regulatory approval, and breweries have been purchasing smaller craft beer producers to involve themselves in the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. beer market.
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