Anheuser-Busch InBev to buy US craft brewer Golden Road Brewing

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev), the world's largest brewer, yesterday struck a deal to buy Golden Road Brewing in order to expand its presence in the fast-growing US craft brewing market.

AB InBev did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but the transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

The proposed deal comes just a week after AB InBev approached its rival SABMiller to merge two of the world's largest brewers to become a dominant player in the global beer market.

The Golden Road Brewing deal is AB InBev's fifth craft-brewery acquisition since 2011. It acquired Chicago-based Goose Island, Patchogue, New York-based Blue Point Brewing Co, Bend, Oregon-based 10 Barrel, and Seattle-based Elysian Brewing Co.

Founded in 2011 by Tony Yanow and Meg Gill, Golden Road Brewing's portfolio of craft beer brands include Point the Way IPA, Wolf Among Weeds IPA, Golden Road Hefeweizen, Get Up Offa That Brown, 329 days of sun Lager and others.

These brands will be joining A-B's growing craft beer portfolio, which includes Goose Island Beer Company, Blue Point Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing and Elysian Brewing.

Golden Road is the largest craft brewery in Los Angeles county and sells products in over 4,000 retail locations. The brewer sells both canned and draft beers and expects to sell 45,000 barrels of beer this year.

The proposed acquisition will give AB InBev a foothold in the growing Los Angeles craft beer market. Golden Road holds a 9 per cent market share of the US beer market.

Meg Gill, ?president of Golden Road Brewing, said in statement, "The energy and passion of the beer community is what drew me into this industry and with Golden Road we wanted to help develop the craft beer market in L.A …….. California is an exciting and competitive market for beer and I see endless opportunities in partnering with Anheuser-Busch and their incredible distribution network to bring our beers to more people."