BALLAST POINT acquired by CONSTELLATION BRANDS

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits dropped its plans for a stock market listing in November 2015, a month after filing for an initial public offering, and agreed to sell to Constellation Brands instead. The enterprise value of covers the brewing business only, as Ballast Point's spirit brands were left out of the deal. Founder Jack White Jr. explained the choice by the workload that the IPO preparation had revealed: under Constellation, his team could concentrate on brewing while the new owner dealt with the demands of public markets. The price represented an EV/revenue multiple of , for net sales expected at that year and volumes of around 4 million cases, more than twice the previous year's level. For Constellation, whose beer portfolio includes Corona and Modelo, it was a first acquisition in craft beer, made after each of its large rivals had bought into the segment within the previous twelve months: Anheuser-Busch InBev with Elysian and Golden Road, MillerCoors with Saint Archer, and Heineken with half of Lagunitas. Distribution weighed in the choice of target, since roughly half of Ballast Point's wholesalers already handled Constellation brands. Completion was expected before the end of 2015.