Royal Unibrew to acquire Canadian craft brewer Amsterdam Brewery Co.
Amsterdam Brewery Co. was founded 1986 and is now a large-scale craft brewery with a potential to increase both capabilities and capacities during the coming years.
The acquisition will help Denmark’s Royal Unibrew grow in North America at a time when transport costs and logistical challenges are making exporting from Europe less attractive.
Local production helps address supply chain challenges
While Royal Unibrew’s export business in the Americas has grown over recent years, it is currently challenged by high freight costs and longer and more unpredictable logistical supply chains.
The company says this export model has natural limitations and increasing local production capacity will help it become more flexible.
Lars Jensen, CEO, Royal Unibrew, said: “This acquisition is very important for the future growth of Royal Unibrew in the Americas region. We are adding capacity in Canada, which is also close to our US business and over time we expect to serve most of Canada and partly US from Amsterdam Brewery Co. Ltd., which will reduce transportation costs and our CO2 footprint.
“On top of that, we will service the market much better and thereby protect ourselves against out of stock and transport congestions which have increased significantly the last 18 months. Further, we will free up capacity on our current facilities in Denmark which will postpone certain capex needs.”
Amsterdam Brewery Co. Ltd. will also bring a more premium offering to Royal Unibrew’s current above mainstream portfolio in Canada, and in particularly in Ontario - which is the largest region for its business in Canada.
Furthermore, Amsterdam Brewery Co. Ltd. has a solid position in the on-trade in Toronto both through two own operated Brewpub restaurants and through traditional on-trade outlets, which Royal Unibrew believes will bring further synergies during the coming years.
The acquisition also helps support its sustainability strategy by ‘significantly reducing’ its CO2 footprint from transport.
The acquisition of Amsterdam Brewery Co. Ltd. is based on an enterprise value of CAD $44m (around DKK 300m / $34m USD) on a debt free basis. Amsterdam Brewery Co. Ltd. has normalized revenue of around CAD $34m (around DKK 200m) and a normalised annual EBITDA of around CAD $5m (around DKK 28m).
Closing is expected to take place during Q3/2022 and is only subject to customary closing preparations.
