Mergers, mergers and more mergers….

We’ve heard about the Pyramid/Magic Hat merger and the InBev/Bud war….but

This from the Seattle Times:

Redhook Ale Brewery shareholders blessed the company’s merger with Widmer Brothers Brewing, of Portland, and the deal is expected to close next Monday or Tuesday. “This is a smokin’ good deal,” co-founder and Chief Executive Paul Shipman told a few dozen shareholders at its annual meeting in Woodinville. The deal has taken longer than expected to pull together, he said, partly because the companies discussed various ways to structure the merger. They settled on a 50/50 division of ownership between the companies’ existing shareholders. That required Redhook shareholders to approve the issuance of about 8.4 million shares, worth $36 million, to be given to Widmer’s roughly 30 shareholders. More than 98 percent of Redhook’s voting shareholders approved the issuance. The new company will be called Craft Brewers Alliance and trade under Redhook’s ticker symbol, HOOK.

And this from Duvel & Liefmans:

On 24 June 2008, Duvel Moortgat nv reached an agreement with the receivers of Brouwerij Liefmans nv.
On the basis of this agreement, Duvel Moortgat nv acquires a large portion of the assets of the bankrupt companies, including the complete machinery, all the brands and recipes.
Earlier, Duvel Moortgat nv had already made a binding offer on the real estate of Brouwerij Liefmans nv in Ouderaarde. The receivers have granted Duvel Moortgat nv a right of use until the completion of some procedural aspects of the sale of this site.
In the first phase, Duvel Moortgat nv will concentrate primarily on the brown ales and fruit beers of the brand Liefmans brewed in Ouderaarde. This way, Duvel Moortgat nv can complete its existing product portfolio with a fine, authentic and traditional beer brand, in a market segment in which it was not active until now.
When Duvel Moortgat nv acquires the site in Ouderaarde, the company will make the necessary investiments to revalue the production site and give visitors a hearty welcome.
The price of the total transaction, including the real estate in Ouderaarde, amounts to 4.5 million Euro.