Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group has sold Woodchuck Cider maker Vermont Cider Company (VCC) to Northeast Drinks Group, a privately owned holding company.
“We have good momentum right now with Woodchuck and Wyder’s and I feel this new ownership will only strengthen this as we move forward,” Vermont Cider Company vice president of sales and marketing Bridget Blacklock said in a press release.
Vermont Cider Company’s valuation has been on a two-decade rollercoaster.
Northeast Drinks Group paid C&C $20 million for VCC, according to a report in The Irish Times. C&C, maker of Magners Irish Cider, acquired VCC in 2012 from an investor group led by Brett Williams for $305 million. That group acquired VCC for $2.3 million in 2003.
Williams recently made beer industry news when an investor group he led acquired a majority stake in Westminster, Massachusetts-based Wachusett Brewing. Williams is also an investor in New York-based Montauk Brewing Company, which produces its offerings at Wachusett’s facility.
The deal, which is expected to close in the next 30 days, includes Vermont Cider Company’s co-packing division Green Mountain Beverage, and the company’s cidery in Middlebury, Vermont. Vermont Cider Company will continue to import C&C’s cider brands, including Magners.
In addition to Woodchuck, VCCs portfolio includes Wyder’s Cider, Gumption Hard Cider and Viva Spritz, a juice-based alcoholic spritzer.
Northeast Drinks Group is “a privately owned holding company comprised of members originally from the Northeast that have experience across the beverage sector,” according to the release. It has no employees listed on its LinkedIn page.
“We plan to support the VCC portfolio with a robust marketing spend and innovative programming,” Northeast Drinks Group partner David Mandler said in the release. “We’ll also leverage the ultra-modern facility to incubate and bring new brands to market over the coming years.”
Year-to-date through late February, the cider segment has posted $64 million in off-premise sales, a 17% increase over the same period last year, according to market research firm IRI.