Labatt rejects Minhas Creek Brewing Company offer to purchase the Lakeport Brewery in Hamilton
CALGARY, April 28 /CNW/ -
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/a.../28/c6412.html
With the untimely closure of the Lakeport Hamilton Brewery by Anheuser-Busch InBev Labatt on April 16th, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas, the brother sister team of young entrepreneurs declared their interest in acquiring the Hamilton Brewery, its 143 full time union employees and taking over the lease on the building (approxiately $1,000,000/year).
The Minhas Creek Brewing Company belives this could be a winning scenario for Labatt, Minhas Creek, the employees and their families as well as the City of Hamilton.
As stated in their letter to AB InBev Labatt the Minhas Creek Brewing Co. said that they would be willing to purchase the majority of the brewery assets from Labatt. The offer to purchase did not include the equipment Labatt declared they would be moving to another facility as well as any of the trademarks associated with the Brewery. The Minhas' also stated they would pay fair market value for this equipment and had already budgeted up to $50 million for this expansion.
The Minhas' received a response this week from AB InBev Labatt stating they would not sell any of the equipment and would be using it in their other facilties. From Minhas Creek's experience in the brewing business they simply don't believe it is practical to retrofit this equipment; rather they suspect the vast majority of this brewing equipment will sit in the Hamilton facility and will simply collect dust until it is cut out for scrap metal.
The Minhas Creek Brewing Company is horribly disappointed that Labatt didn't feel it was worth their time to explore any possibility of a deal, expecially considering the impact on the 143 full time employees and their families as well as numerous local suppliers.
Despite the Labatt rejection to making a deal, the Minhas' have decided to pursue the potential of placing a brewery in Hamilton to continue its brewing legacy. Especially after the outpouring support they have recived from the Ontario consumers. A website has been launched at
www.BoxerOntarioBrewery.ca or via Facebook at Boxer Ontario Brewery to show the support for the brewery as well the potential to invest in a new brewery.