One of Michigan's most popular craft beer brewers is reportedly selling a majority stake in the business to an international group.
MiBiz.com reports Founders Brewing Co. is selling a majority stake in the business to the brewery's Spain-based minority shareholder, Mahou-San Miguel Group. They currently own a 30 percent stake in the company, but it will increase to 90 percent after the deal is completed, according to the report.
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Founders Brewing co-founder Mike Stevens told MiBiz the deal will allow Founders to think more strategically in the future.
"To see the kind of return on the dollar that they're able to enjoy, it really is very satisfying and rewarding, coming from a place of just a couple homebrewers — and quite frankly, I was the opposite of wealth. It is the American Dream."
MiBiz reports day-to-day operations are expected to remain unchanged.
"It's going to give us the opportunity to take Founders to a whole other level," Stevens told MiBiz. "And frankly, we have to. We're a growing company. We have 650 employees. We owe it to our employees to do the best we can to protect them with jobs into the future. This is a great opportunity for us to do that."
Founders Brewing Co. was founded in Grand Rapids in 1997. It's the 15th largest brewery in the United States.