Anchor Deal Now Expected to Close in May, Will Include All Assets

April 25, 2024 – The long awaited resolution on who will own Anchor Brewing is being pushed out another month, after previously being expected to close by next week.

The potential deal has multiple bidders still in play, says Sam Singer, the PR representative for the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors managing the sale. Real estate news site The Real Deal is reporting that Singer told them the deal is now expected to include “the whole kit and kaboodle.” The company had offered to sell the real estate, equipment, and IP separately.

Anchor owner Sapporo shuttered the brewery in July of last year, and since then it has been anybody’s guess what company – if any – would snatch up the 128 year old brand. It’s not clear where the bidding stands, but the real estate alone, in the heart of San Francisco, was listed at $40 million.

If that number holds, its unlikely that the last-LLC-standing will be a brewing firm. Many of the larger players, like Anheuser-Busch InBev and Constellation Brands, don’t appear to have an appetite for more craft in their portfolio, as they’ve been shedding brands in the last 12 months. And given the tight lending environment, the smaller players may have trouble ponying up enough money for the ‘kit’, let alone the ‘kaboodle’.

It’s possible that the more real estate-minded firms currently salivating for that Bay Area land might purchase the whole package and then flip the brand – which includes the trademark for the term “Steam Beer” – further on down the road. Either way, it looks like we’re going to have to wait another month to find out.