BC Business
Some of B.C.’s most iconic ciders, spirits and coolers have been sold to Labatt Breweries. On Wednesday, the Vancouver-based Mark Anthony Group announced that it had sold its brands, breweries and IP—Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Okanagan Premium Ciders and Stanley Park Beers, to Labatt Breweries of Canada, a subsidiary of global beverage behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev. The transaction is estimated to be worth $350 million.
Mike’s Hard alone had been rumoured earlier this year to fetch a price as high as $1 billion. Founded in 1972 as a wine import business, Mark Anthony’s high-end wine business—which includes Mission Hill and Cedar Creek—had diverged from its more mass market beverages in recent years.