Boston Beer Co., brewer of Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Dogfish Head of Milton, have signed a merger agreement valued at approximately $300 million.
Dogfish Head Founder Sam Calagione said the Dogfish brand will remain intact in the Cape Region. “Nothing changes at our Delaware locations,” he said. Calagione said merger discussions started in February at Extreme Beer Fest in Boston.
As for why they decided now was the time to merge their companies, Calagione said, it’s all about staying competitive. “We saw that the international breweries that dominate the U.S. marketplace were buying up what were once true indie craft breweries,” he said. “We saw an opportunity to stand up together for true American indie craft and talk about the importance of American craft breweries.”
The merger will allow Dogfish to expand its Beer & Benevolence program, which is expected to raise more than $1 million this year for the Delaware chapter of The Nature Conservancy. “With this merger, we will have a foundation that will allow us to make even bigger investments in the nonprofit entities that do such important work for coastal Delaware,” Sam said.
