2007-03-30

A Brewing Battle

Former business partner Allen Fracassi is suing Lakeport's Teresa Cascioli for $50m over the deal that gave her control of Hamilton's buck-a-beer brewery
By Steve Buist
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 30, 2007)
Allen Fracassi is suing his former business partner Teresa Cascioli for $50 million over their 2004 deal that gave her control of Lakeport Brewing, Hamilton's discount beer maker.

Fracassi, former president of Philip Services Corp., is alleging that Cascioli withheld important confidential information from him that seriously affected the fair market value of the shares he sold to her on Dec. 30, 2004, for $9.3 million.

Since that date, Lakeport was taken public in a deal that provided Cascioli, the company's chair and CEO, with $28 million, and then conditionally sold to Labatt Breweries earlier this year in a transaction that will provide Cascioli with another $43 million.

Labatt is also named as a defendant in Fracassi's court action.

Fracassi isn't opposing Labatt's purchase of Lakeport but he is asking for an order that would require Labatt to set aside with the court the amount that Cascioli would receive from Lakeport's sale until the dispute is settled.

The allegations contained in Fracassi's statement of claim have not yet been proven in court.

Fracassi and Cascioli both declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Fracassi and Cascioli joined together in 1999 to help bail out Lakeport after the company was forced to seek bankruptcy protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

sbuist@thespec.com 905-526-3226

Used with permission from The Hamilton Spectator, www.thespec.com Copyright The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.