Minhas offers $50m for Lakeport - Beer will be flowing in four months if accepted

Labatt has been offered up to $50 million for the beer-making equipment in its now closed Hamilton brewery.

The offer was tabled this week by Calgary-based Minhas Creek Brewing Company, a firm looking for a chance to break into the discount beer business in Ontario.

Company president Ravinder Minhas said if Labatt takes his offer he could have the Hamilton plant and its 143 employees shipping beer again within four months. The price, he added, is based on fair market value for the equipment in the plant.

"That's what we always thought it would be worth," he said in an interview. "We haven't had a response from them, but I suppose they have to run this up the chain first."

Minhas said the Hamilton plant could produce about 14 million cases of beer -- a fraction of the 88.8 million cases sold by The Beer Store in 2008. Labatt reportedly has about 45 per cent of the Ontario market, or 39.6 million cases a year.

"We'd be a minor player, we're tiny compared to Labatt," Minhas said. "In their position you'd think they'd do anything to keep their image from being tarnished to protect the sweet deal they have."

Comments

[observant]

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