A BILLION DOLLAR PAYDAY

THEY MUST BE celebrating at Ballast Point Brewing. Constellation Brands just made quite an investment with the acquisition of the craft beer company to the tune of one billion dollars. Constellation, which was long focused on wine and spirits, has found success in the beer business since acquiring the rights to sell Corona and Modelo beers in the US in a $5.3 billion deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2O13. San Diego-based Ballast Point was started in 1996 and has expanded rapidly over the years. Ballast Point’s sales volume is expected to double to almost 4 million cases this year, with net sales hitting $115 million. The deal continues a trend of consolidation in the brewing industry, led by AB InBev’s planned $1O7 billion takeover of SABMiller. But even before that, brewing companies had been snapping up craft producers, in whole or in part, to get a piece of the fastest-growing segment of the US beer market.

Ballast Point has an avid fan base. The brewer’s Sculpin, an American India pale ale, is rated world class on the BeerAdvocate website. The company sells its beer in 3O states and 1O countries. With average selling prices at about $355 per barrel, Ballast Point also lies on the very premium end of craft beers, which typically run at about $27O per barrel. That makes it well-positioned to join Constellation’s portfolio of premium brands including Opus One, which costs $25O per bottle.