Ben E. Keith Company is the 2nd largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in the U.S., headquartered in Ft. Worth, Texas with 11 operating locations throughout Texas. The Company engaged Ippolito Christon to determine the fair value of craft and A-B brand rights acquired from 1999 to 2005.
Ippolito Christon was engaged to calculate the fair value of Rights for purposes of testing for impairment of value of the brands acquired by BEK. We selected Ippolito/Christon because of their professional valuation credentials and their demonstrated expertise in valuing intangible distribution rights. Ippolito Christon worked closely with our auditing firm, Ernst & Young, in satisfying the reporting requirements necessary for E&Y to issue its opinion of our financial statements. We were very satisfied with the standard of excellence and the fees charged for the work performed by Ippolito Christon.
Gordon Crow, Jr., Chief Financial Officer, Ben E. Keith Company
Point Pleasant Distributors, a 2.6 million case beer distributor on the east coast, engaged Ippolito Christon as exclusive financial advisor in the sale to two buyers.
Ippolito Christon was instrumental in achieving a very successful sale of our family business. They employed a sense of urgency, following a professional transaction procedure to advance our interests throughout the process. I am deeply grateful to have had use of the Ippolito Christon team’s knowledge, expertise and comprehensive methodology in obtaining a premium price for the brand rights.
Ted Wardell, CEO & principal stockholder
Atlanta Beverage Company is a financially sophisticated and strong performing A-B distributor, serving the six-million population metro Atlanta market. Late in 2015, the Company engaged Ippolito/Christon to create a benchmarking analysis to assist in developing goals and bonuses for management and staff.
The benchmarking data provided by Ippolito/Christon will enable us to create new and effective means of rewarding key people based on value-added performance, a tool all of us can use to improve sales, profitability, and return on investment. Thanks to the financial experts at Ippolito/Christon for helping us along this new path.
Mark Pirrung, President & CEO
R. Ippolito Distributing, LLC engaged Ippolito Christon as exclusive financial advisor in the sale of brand rights and other assets in New York to Anheuser-Busch.
Andy and Karen achieved the tough job I hired them to do. They represented our business professionally throughout the process, and their assistance allowed us to maximize value. These transactions and related negotiations are never easy, and their experience proved to be valuable.
Rich Ippolito, CEO & principal stockholder
Warren Distributing Company is a substantial multi-brand beer distributor operating in two-thirds of New Jersey. The estate of Frank Banko, Jr. engaged Ippolito Christon to value the shares of the distributorship for use in the determination of the estate tax due to IRS. The Banko Family was very pleased with Ippolito Christon’s ability to support the calculation of Fair Market Value of this closely-held family enterprise.
The experts at Ippolito Christon clearly understand the complexities of valuing intangible distribution rights for tax purposes. I would recommend their advisory services to any beer distributor.
Chip Banko, Executor of the Estate
Living in London, David Bruce has been active in the craft beer revolution in England and the U.S. He has sold several companies over the years, the last one in 2011 to regional brewer Greene King, for £93 million. He was a co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery, as discussed in Steve Hindy’s book, The Craft Beer Revolution. David was filmed for the Brewers Association’s documentary, The Global Craft Brewing Pioneers.
The juicy news of Elysian’s sale to A-B is now public. Ippolito Christon did an excellent job in assessing the value of my minority interest in Elysian and providing financial advice. Coming highly recommended by my contacts in the brewing industry, their excellent track record was enhanced further by their role in the sale of Blue Point Brewing to A-B. I congratulate Ippolito Christon on the huge amount of detailed work in developing a sophisticated business model that we used to evaluate Elysian as an independent brewer and in consolidation. With many thanks.
David Bruce, Founding Investor, London, England