MikeMcG wrote:
> does anyone know what happened with Liefman's association (I thought
> owner****p by!) Riva (Dentergem Wit, etc) - I'd read that for years
> Riva were brewing Liefman's wort at their own plant & only fermenting
> at Oudenaarde. Did they maybe craftily keep the 2 co.s as separate, so
> if things got bad, they could go bankrupt, leaving Riva safe & (ahem)
> blameless?
The investment group that bought Liefmans actually bought all of
Riva/Dentergem, and renamed it Liefmans Brewery Group.
Interesting that the article below claims that D-M has no fruit beer in
its lineup. It sort of does, but only because it owns Ommegang Brewery
in the USA; Ommegang's Three Philosophers ale has fruit in. Otherwise,
I'd think Liefmans would be a good addition to D-M's line, and it would
be a way to preserve the Liefmans line. Whether that would also mean
keeping Dentergems Wit around is another matter; IIRC, D-M co-markets
the Steendonk Wit already.
D-M also has strong presence in ex****t markets; Duvel and Maredsous
beers aren't hard to find in the USA, and I think do all right in the
UK (and Maredsous are bottle-conditioned, to add in an ObRealAle
component).
> PS there's some new-ish & slightly older news online -
> _____________________________________________________________
>
http://www.offlicencenews.co.uk/articles/60177/Bidders-line-up-for-Liefmans.aspx?categoryid=9059
> Bidders line up for Liefmans
>
> Published: 18-04-2008
>
> Written by: Graham Holter
>
> Hopes are high that Liefmans could resume brewing under new owner****p
> after a Belgian court placed the company into the hands of liquidators
> last week.
>
> The brewer, famous for its paper-wrapped fruit beers, collapsed at the
> end of last year five years after being bought by private equity
> investors.
>
> UK partner James Clay, which has been the main supplier of Liefmans
> for around 15 years, lost around 100 on and off-trade listings after
> brewing was suspended and supplies ran out.
>
> The company has about a month's stock but faces uncertain times as
> bidders line up to take control of the Belgian brewer. Duvel Moortgat,
> which does not have a fruit beer in its ****tfolio, is thought to be
> the most likely new owner.
>
> James Clay managing director Ian Clay said: "We've been getting about
> 20 phone calls a day asking about Liefmans. It's been a difficult time
> both professionally and personally."
>
> Although sales of Liefmans were strong, Clay said investors appeared
> to have run out of working capital partly due to unexpectedly high
> costs of complying with new water treatment regulations.
--
dgs
|
