Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. acquired ACE Cider, The California Cider Company. Terms for the transaction, which is expected to close Nov. 16, weren’t disclosed. The first family-owned cider company in the U.S. and among the fastest growing craft cider brands in the country, ACE produces nearly 90,000 barrels, or more than 1 million cases, of cider a year and records sales of more than $20 million annually.
“This strategic acquisition adds an innovative product line to our RTD category and brings us access to a significant new sales channel for distribution, through which we expect we can push many of our brands,” commented Pat Roney, VWE CEO. “Importantly, this provides another platform from which we can expand by executing our strategy of consolidating highly fragmented offerings where we can leverage our production and marketing expertise to gain market share, capture more customers and increase volume.”
President and Founder Jeffrey House and his family have been producing premium, craft hard cider since 1993. ACE is located in Sebastopol, California, near the heart of Sonoma County, a region renowned for its winemaking and premium apple orchards. ACE has a diverse and balanced product portfolio with award-winning, fruit-forward ciders featuring no artificial ingredients, less calories and significantly less sugar (no added sugar) than the average hard cider—a compelling step up for hard seltzer consumers. ACE Pineapple is the world’s original pineapple cider and is the #1 selling fruit flavored cider in the U.S. ACE hard ciders are certified gluten-free and vegan.
Cowen acted as financial advisor to ACE and Farella Braun + Martel acted as legal advisor.