Pabst Blue Ribbon — a sub-premium **** brand that embraced savvy marketing to stay relevant in a craft **** age — has been sold, along with its parent, Pabst Brewing Co., to Russian company Oasis Beverages.
The companies declined to disclose the sale price, but beverage industry analysts estimate the sale at nearly $750 million — a figure nearly three times the estimated $250 million that C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. paid for it in 2010. Oasis Beverages' partner in the purchase is TSG Consumer Partners, a consumer products company that will take a minority stake Pabst.
Besides the familiar Pabst Blue Ribbon label, Pabst Brewing Co. makes Colt 45, Old Milwaukee and Schlitz. It also makes regional brews such as Lone Star, Rainier and Old Style.
