Northern Brewer / Midwest Supplies Acquired by ZX Ventures

Northern Brewer's founder Chris Farley recently announced that it has been acquired by ZX Ventures, a venture capital arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

In a statement by Mr. Farley on the Northern Brewer website he explains,

"Many of you have seen the news that we’ve closed a deal to be acquired by ZX Ventures, the global Disruptive Growth Unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

I’ll admit, we didn’t share this with you the way we should and for that, I apologize. I think this is a really important moment in our company’s history and an important moment in our shared passion for brewing great beer. Let me tell you what that means.

First, nothing will fundamentally change as the result of this deal. Our entire leadership team will remain intact and our company will continue to be independent. Our staff of dedicated employees will continue to serve our customers and help our industry innovate. Our culture will remain as it is today: vibrant, energetic, fair and dedicated to our mission and to you.

Second, this partnership with ZX Ventures is about growing our company and providing our customers with unparalleled opportunities. This deal will make us stronger and able to pursue our passion with even greater focus, better tools and ingredients.

We are convinced that this partnership will be good for us and great for you. We share the same mission with ZX, to provide “consumers with exceptional beer experiences, anytime, anywhere.” That is, after all, why we’re all here."

ZX Partners promotes itself on its website as a "global disruptive growth group, incubator, and venture capital team backed by one of the largest multinational companies in the world, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Our trade is dreaming up what the future looks like, today. We are a small army of futurists, dreamers, doers, designers, engineers, scientists, marketers, brewers, builders, and data geeks. For us, the future is now."

Tune in next Monday as we are sure to learn and report on another big industry acquisition. For better or for worse, we will let you decide.