Monday, November 23, 2015

Anti-Merger Mania

I read this Fortune article this morning, which I found through Stone Brewing's twitter feed. It makes sense that Stone linked to the article, as Greg Koch, one of Stone's founders and its current executive chairman, has strong opinions on selling to mega brewers:
“M&A isn’t a term I use a lot. I think you mean ‘selling out,’” says Stone Brewing co-founder Greg Koch. “Some of us got into this for our passion … and wanting to fight ‘the man.’ Crazy as that may seem, there are some of us that may hold to that vision.”

Koch, who recently announced plans to step down as CEO to assume the role of executive chairman, vows he won’t sell Escondido, Calif.-based Stone, and that because of his public comments on the topic, he hasn’t been courted by big brewers or private equity firms. “They know my response would include the words ‘sand’ and ‘pound,’ ” he says.
Most corporations have a price at which they'll sell, but these are strong words. Stone understands that you cannot sell to a huge company, collect a big paycheck, and then expect to run your business as if you still own it.  

In a separate, but related story, Modern Times Beer, founded by Stone alumnus Jacob McKean, posted this humorous troll:


Modern Times' mindset is similar to Stone. 

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