The Reyes Beer Division remains a very active acquirer in the state of California.
The largest beer wholesaler in the U.S. continued to add to its business in the state today as its Harbor Distributing subsidiary signed an agreement to acquire Redding Distributing Company in Northern California.
The transaction is slated to close on April 30. Redding Distributing Company’s business will be folded into the operations of Reyes subsidiary Golden Brands.
Golden Brands sells more than 38 million cases representing nearly 2,300 SKUs to more than 16,720 retail customers in Northern California. It operates facilities in Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, Chico, Fairfield, Truckee, Ukiah, Richmond and Monterey Bay.
The Redding acquisition will add 90 employees, 700 retail customers and 2 million cases to Golden Brands’ business, plus the distributor’s warehouse in Redding, California, about 162 miles north of Sacramento. Redding’s portfolio of brands includes offerings from Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, Heineken USA, Diageo, Mark Anthony Brands, Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer Company.
“When we officially established roots in Northern California in September 2019, we knew it was a very special market,” Reyes Beer Division CEO Tom Day said in a press release. “We’ve seen incredible growth and success in a short period of time with our Golden Brands operations. We are grateful to have another opportunity to grow and welcome Redding Distributing’s operations to our business in Northern California.”
“The Jensen family has just as much experience and they have a great business,” Reyes Beer Division West president Tom Reyes added. “We are looking forward to building on their reputation, expanding our service to the Redding territory, and welcoming the new employees and operations.”
Reyes’ moves in Golden State are well-documented, from acquiring the portfolios of certain brands (Constellation, New Belgium, Diageo), to acquiring several wholesaler operations in the state.
Reyes began building Golden Brands in July 2019 when it acquired DBI Beverage Inc. and has added to its Northern California territory with several transactions:
- Saccani Distributing Company, in Sacramento (March 2020);
- Bay Area Beverage Company in Richmond (April 2020);
- And Elyxir Distributing in Watsonville (June 2020).
In late 2020, industry watchdog group Alcohol Justice urged the California Attorney General to conduct an independent investigation of Reyes Holdings and Anheuser-Busch InBev for what it believes could be antitrust violations related to acquisitions each company has made in the state and “the ensuring duopoly” created through them.