AB InBev completed reportedly the sale of two of its distressed German breweries. Local media reported on Friday that Hasseröder Brauerei, one of the leading German breweries in terms of volume sales, has been sold to a German private equity company for a reported sum of about €200 million. The buyer prefers to stay anonymous until the beginning of next week when staff and public will be informed about the sale.
Last year Hasseröder lost about 200,000 hl of sales and ranks nationwide only 8th with 1.893,000 hl on Inside-Getraenke’s recently published brand chart for 2017.
In June 2017, AB InBev initiated the sale of Hasseröder Brauerei and Brauerei Diebels. (inside.beer, 21.6.2017) After international buyers and leading German breweries denied any interest in the company, AB InBev had only a restricted choice of buyers.
In November it became known that three former managers and local investors under the lead of Walter Schmidt, who was CEO of Hasseröder from 1993 until 2007, spoke to the Minister of Economic Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt to evaluate a potential government support for a possible take-over. (inside.beer, 4.11.2017)
When asked on Friday about the sale, Schmidt told a local newspaper: “We take it sportingly that we are out now, especially since AB InBev wanted to sell both breweries together." He also said that he does not know the name of the buyer but that he wishes him all the best for the future especially because the “brand has suffered a lot recently."
