SEATTLE & PORTLAND, Ore. -- Craft breweries Redhook Ale Brewery Inc., Woodinville, Wash., and Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, Ore., will merge to create a combined company called Craft Brewers Alliance.
The companies said that they see the merger as a natural next step for the two businesses that already operate partnerships in brewing, sales and marketing. Following the merger, the Redhook and Widmer beers will remain separate brands in the marketplace.
The new entity will be better positioned to compete on a national [image-nocss] basis in the increasingly popular and fast-growing craft beer industry. The combined company will have breweries in Portland and Woodinville and Portsmouth, N.H.
Kurt Widmer will serve as the company's chairman and Paul Shipman founder and CEO of Redhook, will serve as chairman emeritus. Dave Mickelson, Redhook's current president and COO, and Terry Michaelson, president of Craft Brands Alliance, Redhook and Widmer's current sales and marketing joint venture, will serve as co-CEOs of the company. The combined company will continue to be publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol HOOK and will have management offices in both Portland and Woodinville.
I believe that the merger will allow us even greater opportunity to deliver unique and great-tasting beers for our customers, said Kurt Widmer, president and brewmaster of Widmer Brothers.
The two breweries have worked well together over the past few years, and I'm confident that we will be even stronger as one company, said Shipman.
Although Redhook and Widmer have agreed to merge, the agreement is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. The merger is expected to be completed during first-quarter 2008. The all stock transaction will result in Widmer shareholders and existing Redhook shareholders each holding approximately 50% of the outstanding shares in the combined company.
Anheuser-Busch Inc. is expected to remain a strategic distribution partner for Widmer and Redhook products and will continue to hold a minority equity stake in the company following the merger.
Formed in 1981, Redhook brews its specialty bottled and draft products in its two company-owned breweries, one in the Seattle suburb of Woodinville, Wash., and the other in Portsmouth, N.H. Redhook distributes its products nationally through a network of wholesale distributors, Craft Brands Alliance LLC and a distribution alliance with A-B.
Kurt and Rob Widmer founded their brewery in 1984. Widmer Hefeweizen, an unfiltered wheat beer that is typically served with a lemon, is the company's flagship beer.
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