Stroh To Sell Beer Brands

February 8, 1999 / 1:32 PM EST / AP

Stroh Brewery Co. is selling its beer brands to Pabst Brewing Co. and Miller Brewing Co. to concentrate on its real estate businesses.

In the deals announced Monday:

Pabst will acquire the Stroh's, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, Schaefer, Old Style, Schmidt's, Lone Star, Special Export, McSorley's, Schlitz Malt Liquor, and Ranier brands.
Miller, a unit of Philip Morris Cos. Inc., is buying Stroh's Henry Weinhard's and Mickeys brands.

Pabst, based in San Antonio, is the nation's fifth-largest brewer. In addition to buying the biggest Stroh brands, it also is buying a brewery in Lehigh Valley, Pa.

Miller, based in Milwaukee, is the No. 2 brewer after industry leader, St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.

Terms were not disclosed.

Stroh, headquartered in Detroit, is the nation's fourth-largest brewer with about 2,800 employees nationwide. In addition to Lehigh Valley, its breweries are in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Longview, Texas; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and La Crosse, Wis.

It's too soon to know how many employees will be affected, said Stroh spokeswoman Lacey Logan.

"As we get closer to the close, we'll have a better understanding of how many people will be impacted, and when," she said. "It's our understanding that both Pabst and Miller planned to offer full-time employment to full-time employees."

The deals are expected to be completed in early April, and are subject to antitrust review by federal regulators.

"My family and I struggled with this decision," said John Stroh III, the company's president and chief executive officer and a fifth-generation member of the Stroh family.

"Emotionally, it was an extremely difficult one to make, knowing that it would impact our loyal employees, and recognizing that it would mean the end of our family's centuries-old brewing tradition that had become, in essence, an important part of our identity."

Stroh said no previous offers had been "compelling enough to pursue" in light of the family's brewing heritage.

"However, in light of this attractive offer, and the long-term competitive outlook of the brewing industry, we concluded that it is the appropriate time to exit the beer business and focus on the family's other ventures," he said.

Stroh has real estate interests throughout Detroit and across the country.