Molson Coors Beverage Company
Acquisitions
4
Major Deals Covered
$15.5B
Disclosed Deal Value
Molson Coors's largest disclosed acquisition here is MillerCoors (Full Ownership) for $12B in 2016. This page covers 4 major deals from 2012 to 2026, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| MillerCoors (Full Ownership) | 2016 | $12.0B | To take full control of its U.S. joint venture when AB InBev acquired SABMiller and had to divest SABMiller's MillerCoors stake. |
| StarBev | 2012 | $3.5B | To expand in Central and Eastern Europe by buying StarBev from CVC Capital Partners. |
| Blue Run Spirits | 2023 | Undisclosed | To add a premium American whiskey brand to the Beyond Beer portfolio. |
| Atomic Brands (Monaco Cocktails) | 2026 | Undisclosed | To add Monaco, which the company describes as the largest independently owned RTD singles cocktail brand in the U.S., to its Beyond Beer portfolio. |
2026
To add Monaco, which the company describes as the largest independently owned RTD singles cocktail brand in the U.S., to its Beyond Beer portfolio.
Completed in April 2026 for an undisclosed amount, giving Molson Coors an owned spirits-style RTD brand.
Integration is ongoing.
2023
To add a premium American whiskey brand to the Beyond Beer portfolio.
Gave Molson Coors an owned spirits brand alongside its beer and flavored malt beverages.
Blue Run remains a small part of the portfolio relative to beer; the purchase price was not disclosed.
2016
$12.0B
To take full control of its U.S. joint venture when AB InBev acquired SABMiller and had to divest SABMiller's MillerCoors stake.
Molson Coors bought SABMiller's 58% stake plus global rights to the Miller brand portfolio, roughly doubling reported sales from $6.6B in 2016 to $13.5B in 2017.
The deal made Molson Coors the sole owner of the No. 2 U.S. brewer but added substantial debt that the company spent years paying down.
2012
$3.5B
To expand in Central and Eastern Europe by buying StarBev from CVC Capital Partners.
Added Staropramen and breweries in markets including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria.
The business now forms part of the EMEA&APAC segment.
Molson Coors renamed itself from Brewing Company to Beverage Company in 2019-2020 to signal a wider portfolio. Its growth plan combines premiumization (Blue Moon, Peroni in the U.S., Madri Excepcional in the UK), flavor and spirits-adjacent drinks (Simply Spiked, Topo Chico Hard, Monaco Cocktails via the April 2026 Atomic Brands acquisition), non-alcoholic and mixer adjacencies (a minority stake in Fever-Tree and U.S. distribution of its mixers since 2025), and cost cuts that fund marketing behind Coors Light and Miller Lite.
Molson Coors brews, packages and markets beer and flavored alcohol beverages, then sells them to independent distributors and, where law allows, directly to retailers. In the U.S. three-tier system, the company sells to wholesalers who deliver to bars, restaurants and stores, so brand marketing and distributor execution drive demand. Revenue is reported as sales before excise taxes ($13.04B in 2025) and net sales after excise taxes ($11.14B). The Americas segment produced about $8.71B of 2025 net sales and EMEA&APAC about $2.46B. Licensing deals (Simply Spiked and Topo Chico Hard with Coca-Cola, Peroni and Fever-Tree in the U.S.) extend the portfolio beyond owned brands.
In October 2016, Molson Coors completed the $12.0 billion buyout of SABMiller's 58% stake in the MillerCoors joint venture. The acquisition doubled Molson Coors' enterprise scale, gave it 100% ownership of Miller Lite and Coors Light globally, and created the second-largest brewer in the US.
In 2012, Molson Coors acquired Central and Eastern European brewing group StarBev from CVC Capital Partners for $3.5 billion. The acquisition brought historic Czech pilsner brand Staropramen and leading breweries in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria into Molson Coors.
In January 2020, Molson Coors acquired Detroit-based craft pioneer Atwater Brewery (maker of Dirty Blonde ale and Vanilla Java Porter). The acquisition expanded Molson Coors' Tenth and Blake craft portfolio across the Midwestern US craft beer market.
In April 2026 Molson Coors completed the acquisition of Atomic Brands, maker of Monaco Cocktails, for an undisclosed price, adding an RTD cocktail brand to its U.S. Beyond Beer portfolio.
In 2018, Molson Coors acquired historic British premium cider maker Aspall Cyder (founded in Suffolk in 1728). The deal expanded Molson Coors into the high-growth premium craft cider and specialty apple vinegar categories in the UK and Europe.
Molson Coors took a minority stake in ZOA Energy, the energy drink brand co-founded by Dwayne Johnson, and became its U.S. distribution partner as part of its push into non-alcoholic beverages.
In 2018, Molson Coors Canada formed Truss Beverages, a joint venture with cannabis producer HEXO, to develop cannabis-infused drinks in Canada. The partnership was later restructured as the Canadian cannabis beverage market grew more slowly than expected.
Molson Coors pursues selective, bolt-on acquisitions and incubation partnerships in premium craft spirits (Five Trail whiskey, Barmen 1873 bourbon) and ready-to-drink canned cocktails, expanding its presence in high-margin liquor aisles.
In 1995, brewer Keith Villa at the Coors Field SandLot Brewery in Denver created a Belgian-style wheat ale brewed with Valencia orange peel and coriander, serving it with a signature orange slice. Branded as Blue Moon, Molson Coors scaled it into the best-selling craft beer in the United States without acquiring an outside boutique craft brewery.
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