Santa Rosa-based wine producer Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) has acquired Ace Cider, The California Cider Company, in Sebastopol, California. The transaction, which was announced Monday, closed today (November 16).
“Ace is one of the fastest growing craft ciders in the country,” Pat Roney, VWE CEO, said during VWE’s Q1 2022 earnings call Monday. “This is a great addition to our ready-to-drink portfolio, and also complements our channels to market and extends our market research by adding beer distributors to our wholesale network. This creates a new growth opportunity for our ready-to-drink portfolio of products.
“We also see this as providing another platform for growth and diversification, such as wine on tap and new ready-to-drink brands,” he continued.
Family-owned Ace has produced craft hard cider since 1993, and now produces nearly 90,000 barrels of cider annually, with annual revenue of more than $20 million, according to a press release. In February, Ace announced distribution of its offerings across all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C.
Year-to-date through November 6, off-premise dollar sales of Ace’s offerings have declined -0.5%, while the company’s volume has declined-2.1%, according to market research firm NielsenIQ. The overall cider segment’s off-premise dollar sales have declined -2.6% in multi-outlet and convenience stores year-to-date through October 31, according to IRI.
This is the second acquisition so far this fiscal year by VWE. In September, it acquired the wine delivery platform Vinesse for $14 million in cash, with a $2.5 million earnout over a three-year period, expanding its direct-to-consumer shipping capabilities. During Monday’s earnings call, Roney said VWE is “not finished with acquisitions for fiscal 2022.”
Investment banking firm Cowen served as the exclusive financial advisor to Ace.