News
AB InBev sells spirits business Atom Group back to founder
The drinks giant originally bought the group and its portfolio of brands – online retailer Master of Malt, spirits producer Atom Brands, craft spirits distributor Maverick Drinks and wholesaler Master of Malt Trade – in 2018.
According to Petszaft, the original sale was to enable to business to scale up its global operations and ‘supercharge’ its e-commerce platform.
“We went into the AB InBev relationship with a lot of excitement and energy, and a lot of hope about what could be accomplished together,” he explained. “We felt they were as ambitious and excited by how technology could transform the drinks industry as we were.”
Platform for growth
Petszaft now owns 100% of the Atom Group and plans to use it as a platform to help smaller distillers grow by building an ecosystem comprising ‘every link in the premium spirits value chain’, Food Manufacture's sister title The Grocer reports.
“We want to share everything we’ve learned over the past 25 years building this business from scratch and make it a little easier for the next bunch of kids in a shed to turn their dream into reality,” he continued.
Commenting on the decision to decision to bring Atom Group back under private ownership, Petszaft said it had become clear that the nosiness was too early in its ‘life cycle’ to fit well within AB InBev to make the most use of the resources available.
‘Still a startup’
In his eyes, Atom Group was much more like a startup than an established mature business with processes that could be easily scaled.
“I could not be more grateful to AB InBev for their support over the years, and their unparalleled professionalism and decency in recognising that Atom could only reach its full potential as an independent founder-led company and facilitating the transition back to independence,” Petszaft concluded.
Meanwhile, global F&B firm Mars is exploring the acquisition of Kellanova, according to a new report by Reuters.
The news agency claimed that a potential deal would represent the “biggest ever in the packaged food sector” given the $27bn market value of Kellanova (including its debt).
