In a paywalled article on Friday (31 May), The Wall Street Journal claimed that Suntory Holdings is in talks with US-based Boston Beer over a possible takeover. The discussions, according to the news outlet, are “in [their] early stages”, with the claim prompting a jump in the Samuel Adams beer and Truly hard seltzer brand owner’s share price.
Following the news, however, Suntory issued a statement over the weekend, in which a company spokesperson said: “There is no fact that we are in any negotiations with Boston Beer.”
In the 12 months of 2023, Boston Beer saw its sales slip by just under 3% to US$2.01bn. This year has started well for the brewer and brand owner, however, with the top line rising by almost 4% in the three months to the end of March. Boston Beer noted in its most recent results, however, that the Q1 performance was skewed somewhat by a rise in shipments “as distributors built inventories to support the company’s peak selling season”.
Boston Beer has a current market capitalisation of around $3.75bn.
While Suntory’s headlines tend to be dominated by its spirits division, the group also operates in the beer category, albeit domestically through brands including The Premium Malt’s. Last week, Japanese peer Sapporo Breweries confirmed the commencement of US brewing for its namesake beer brand thanks to an investment in San Diego’s Stone Brewing, which was acquired in 2022.
