I read that InBev has to sell "Labatt USA" as part of the Budwiser deal. What exactly is "Labatt USA"?. Do they plan to actually brew Labatt in the US or is it just distribution of the Canadian beer? What does the future look like for Labatt in the US.?
"Labatt USA" is merely the importer of Labatt beer (and some other beers, mostly Mexican). For a brief time, they also imported Beck's and many other of InBev's European brands, but most of those were later given to Anheuser-Busch's subsidiary, the Import Brands Alliance. Labatt USA recently relocated to Buffalo NY (previously it was in Connecticut) and, by most accounts, employs only 20-24 people total.
The Feds, in the US, approved the InBev's later purchase of A-B on the condition that InBev sell Labatt USA (NOT the Canadian brewery, just the import company) and can only supply the new owner of Labatt USA with their Canadian brewed Labatt for 3 years, at which time they'd have to license the brand to another brewery.
It appears as if an investment group, KSP, is about to buy both Labatt USA and High Falls (formerly known as Genesee), so they will own the rights to brew and distribute Labatt beer in the US and will have a brewery, with lots of extra capacity, to brew it- right in the middle of the largest market for Labatt beer is the US- upstate NY.
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