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 Los Angeles-based Pabst, whose beer and malt liquor labels also
include Schlitz and Old Milwaukee, has hired boutique investment
bank Perella Weinberg Partners to assist with the effort, the people
said on Saturday.
While the sale process is still at an early stage and detailed
financial information is not available, Pabst is expected to fetch
between $500 million and $1 billion, some of the people said.
One of the oldest breweries in the United States, Pabst is also
considering an initial public offering as an alternative, two people
added.
All the people asked not to be named because the process is
confidential. Representatives for Metropoulos, Pabst and Perella
Weinberg could not be immediately reached for comment.
Pabst was founded in Milwaukee in 1844 by Jacob Best and later sold
to beer tycoon Paul Kalmanovitz. The company was later left in a
charitable foundation after Kalmanovitz's death until a judge
declared that it had to be sold.
Metropoulos, who works with his sons Daren and Evan, bought Pabst
from Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation in 2010 for $250 million.
The business has grown substantially over the years since his
purchase and is likely to attract interest from both larger brewers
and private equity firms, one of the people familiar with the matter
said.
Worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes, Metropoulos has built a
fortune turning around struggling food brands like Chef Boyardee,
Bumble Bee Tuna, and Vlasic pickles. Metropoulos came to the United
States from Greece as a child and has sold everything from milk to
pickles to frozen foods over the last few decades.
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In 2013, he teamed up with longtime partner Apollo Global Management
<APO.N> to buy Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Cupcakes from bankrupt
Hostess Brands Inc for $410 million.
Dean Metropoulos has served as an executive at companies such as the
Morningstar Group, which became Dean Foods <DF.N>, Duncan Hines cake
mix maker Aurora Foods, Ghirardelli Chocolates, and Mumm and Perrier
Jouet Champagnes.
He also ran Chef Boyardee and Pam cooking spray maker International
Home Foods, which was sold to ConAgra Foods Inc <CAG.N>, and
Pinnacle Foods, maker of Vlasic pickles and Log Cabin syrups.
Blackstone Group <BX.N> bought Pinnacle in 2007 and took it public
last year.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Olivia
Oran; editing by Diane Craft)
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