2007-02-02

Beer Giant Offers $201.4m For Lakeport

Labatt buyout would swallow Hamilton-based brewer, putting 200 jobs on the line
By Naomi Powell
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 2, 2007)
Will Lakeport's success spell the end of the Hamilton brewery?

That's the question analysts and workers were asking yesterday as Labatt offered $201.4 million for the Hamilton brewery that built its fairy-tale success on the buck-a-beer market.

Teresa Cascioli -- the chief executive who transformed the near-bankrupt company into a scrappy player nipping at the heels of Canada's brewing goliaths -- has recommended the sale. She stands to gain about $40 million from the sale of her 21 per cent stake in the company.

Cascioli refused to comment on what the future holds for 200 workers at the Burlington Street plant yesterday.

Labatt has said it wants to grow the Lakeport brand. But analysts say they don't have to do it in Hamilton.

"No one's telling us anything," said Gary Sutton, an employee at Lakeport since 1999. "When that happens, you worry. Will it still be Lakeport or will it be Labatt? No one knows."

Some analysts say Labatt's move is the first salvo in a bid to shut down the cheap beer market. If so, that's also likely bad news for the local brewery.

Lakeport was facing bankruptcy when Cascioli took over in 1999. She has since built the company into Ontario's third biggest brewer, behind Labatt and Molson.

RELATED STORY: Lakeport employees worry over the possible sale of the brewery to beer giant Labatt. A7

npowell@thespec.com 905-526-4620
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