SO THE RUSSIANS AREN’T BUYING PBR AFTER ALL

IT JUST goes to show how quickly rumors can turn into fact. Back in September it was announced that Oasis Beverages had acquired the Pabst Brewing Company and everyone had something to say about the good old American brand going to the Russians. Well, it turns out that never happened. Despite a BusinessWire release announcing the deal, Oasis was never part of the buying group, or even involved in talks to buy Pabst. Instead, it seems this is what actually happened: Eugene Kashper, a United States citizen who was born in Russia and has a long history in the brewing business, decided he wanted to buy Pabst. At the time, Kashper was chairman of Oasis Beverages, a brewer and distributor that serves the Russian and Eastern European markets. Through its ownership of the Moscow Brewing Company, Oasis claims a 12 percent share of the Moscow beer market. But as Kashper made plans to buy Pabst, he was doing so independently of his role as chairman of Oasis. Instead, he was working with TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm that invests in consumer goods companies.

At the same time, Kashper was discussing a distribution agreement with Oasis that would introduce Pabst to the Russian and Eastern European markets. There were also discussions about selling Oasis a minority nonvoting stake in Pabst. Those talks broke down because of market conditions – namely the fact that Western nations are imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its aggression in Ukraine, making this an inopportune time to introduce a distinctly American beer. And Oasis was never in talks to acquire Pabst outright. Rather, Kashper and TSG formed a new company, Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, which did, in fact, purchase Pabst. Despite the fact that Oasis was never involved in the deal, the media release said that Oasis was the acquirer, suggesting that a beverage company with deep ties to Russia was acquiring an American brand. It’s not clear why the original announcement was inaccurate but in the end, the Russians never acquired Pabst. The beer – so beloved by hipsters from Brooklyn to San Francisco – remains safely in American hands.