“As to recent speculation around our ownership structure, there is no deal on the table,” the company said. “We look forward to growing our team, honoring our commitments and continuing to be a responsible and engaged member of the Asheville community.”
New Belgium Brewing, located in West Asheville says that they have no short term plans in selling the company. This was stated in their end-of-year reports and statements.
Rumors had it that there was a possible of New Belgium Brewery, as mergers and acquisitions have been happening right, left, and center, including the pending merger of AB-InBev and SAB Miller.
“Our board of directors does due diligence to look at what the industry is doing,” said company spokeswoman Suzanne Hackett. “This is not an an uncommon practice. It is just good business.”
The plan for New Belgium is to continue to test out the waters before releasing their beer for sale, scheduled for early this year (2016). It currently employs around 50 employees and would grow once the brews have launched.
The project is estimated to cost about $140 million , which includes a separate distribution center in Enka, which will produce up to 500,000 barrels at full capacity. It will be the biggest brewery in Buncombe County, which has 21 breweries in operation. This will deem New Belgium Brewery as one of the three major national craft breweries in Western North Carolina, along with Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues.
Source: Citizen Times