| Molson Coors Beverage Company | |
| Former Name: | Molson Coors Brewing Company (2005–2019) |
| Type: | Public |
| Location: | 250 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Revenue: | (2023)[1] |
| Operating Income: | US$1.44 billion (2023) |
| Net Income: | US$956 million (2023) |
| Assets: | US$26.4 billion (2023) |
| Equity: | US$13.4 billion (2023) |
| Industry: | Drink industry |
| Num Employees: | 17,700 (2023) |
| Products: | Beer, malt beverages, energy drinks, spirits and wines |
Molson Coors is a Canadian-American multinational drink and brewing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with main offices in Golden, Colorado, and Montreal, Quebec.[2]
Molson Coors was formed in 2005 through the merger of Molson of Canada, and Coors of the United States.[3]
In 2016, Molson Coors acquired Miller Brewing Company for approximately US$12 billion.[4] The agreement made Molson Coors the world's third largest brewer.[5]
Molson Coors is a publicly traded company on both the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. Molson Coors has been a constituent of the S&P500 since 2005.[6]
On July 22, 2004, Molson, Inc.and the Adolph Coors Company announced their plan to merge. The merger was completed February 9, 2005, with the merged company being named Molson Coors Brewing Company. The merger included the brands and brewing operations of the Molson Brewery and the Coors Brewing Company.[7] [3] Molson Brewery was started by John Molson in Montreal, Canada, in 1786. Coors Brewing Company was started by Adolph Coors in Golden, Colorado, United States, in 1873.
Molson Coors bought Creemore Springs Brewery on April 22, 2005.[8]
The operations of Molson Coors in Brazil were sold to the Mexican group FEMSA in 2006, and the beer operations of FEMSA was acquired by Heineken International in 2010.
On October 9, 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company announced a joint venture to be known as MillerCoors for their U.S. brewing and sales operations. SABMiller had 58% stake in the company, and Molson Coors had a 42% stake. MillerCoors combined their operations within North America with the headquarters in Chicago.[9]
On February 2, 2011, the company purchased Sharp's Brewery of Cornwall in England for £20 million.[10]
In early 2012, the company expanded into the Central and Eastern European markets by acquiring the region's market-leading brewery StarBev from CVC Capital Partners.[11]
In September 2015, Anheuser-Busch Inbev announced that it had reached agreement to acquire competitor SABMiller for $107 billion. During the merger discussions between the two companies in 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had agreed to the proposed deal only on the basis that SABMiller "spins off all its MillerCoors holdings in the U.S. — which include both Miller- and Coors-held brands — along with its Miller brands outside the U.S."[12]
SABMiller agreed to divest itself of the Miller brands by selling its stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors. The merger between Anheuser-Busch Inbev and SABMiller closed on October 10, 2016. The spinoff deal was completed on October 11, 2016.[13] As per the agreement with the regulators, SABMiller sold to Molson Coors full ownership of the Miller Brewing Company brand portfolio.[14]
After SABMiller divested itself of all interests in MillerCoors, Molson Coors became the largest brewer in North America[15]
On October 30, 2019, the company announced it would change its name to Molson Coors Beverage Company as a part of a restructuring to take place in 2020.[16] The name change would reflect the company's growing focus on beverages outside of the traditional beer and brewing offerings. Additionally, the company would retire the MillerCoors corporate brand name and reorganize its global business units into Molson Coors North America, headquartered in Toronto, and Molson Coors Europe, headquartered in Prague.[17] [18]
See main article: Milwaukee brewery shooting.
On February 26, 2020, six people, including the shooter, were killed at a shooting near the company's Milwaukee brewing campus.[19] [20] The Milwaukee complex serves as a site for some of Molson Coors' corporate offices and brewing facilities and was in the "Miller Valley" area, which served as the headquarters for the Miller Brewing Company before it was acquired by Molson Coors.[21]
On September 15, 2020, Molson Coors and D. G. Yuengling & Son announced a joint venture to oversee the expansion of Yuengling beer into states beyond its existing footprint. Under the terms of the deal, Yuengling beers will be brewed and packaged in select Molson Coors’ breweries under Yuengling brewers’ supervision, and distributed into new markets.[22]
In 2023, Molson Coors established Coors Spirits Co., offering Five Trail Blended American Whiskey in 2021, among others.
The company brews, markets and sells the Molson Coors portfolio of brands. Molson Coors operates breweries across the world, including the Molson Brewery in Montreal, Quebec, Blue Moon Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, Borsodi Brewery in Bőcs, Hungary, Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado, Creemore Springs Brewery in Creemore, Ontario, Fraser Valley Brewery in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Leinenkugel Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Miller Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pardubice Brewery in Pardubice, Czech Republic, Staropramen Brewery in Prague, Czech Republic, and Coors Brewers in Burton upon Trent, England.
Molson Coors operates through its business units Molson Coors North America and Molson Coors Europe.
As of May 2022, the management[23] consisted of the following:
See main article: Molson Coors brands.
Notable brands include Blue Moon, Carling, Coors Banquet, Keystone, Coors Light, George Killian's Irish Red, Granville Island Brewing, Hamm's, Hop Valley, Leinenkugel's, Miller High Life, Miller Lite, Milwaukee's Best, Molson Canadian, Molson Export, Steel Reserve, Terrapin, Vizzy Hard Seltzer, Trebjesa brewery, Staropramen and Ožujsko pivo.[24]
Molson Coors conducted a comprehensive, and voluntary investigation of its pollution and environmental emissions. Coors was not violating the Clean Air Act but was encouraged by the Environmental Audit Privilege and Voluntary Disclosure Act which immunizes and credits organizations for conducting environmental self-audits, which can grant immunity from environmental regulation fines.[25]
The United States government had thought that Coors was a minor violator of emissions such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but the investigating showed otherwise, revealing that Coors was 17 times over the estimated value of emissions. Molson Coors then provided the audit results to the Colorado Department of Health which culminated in a $1.05 million fine for the 189 violations of state pollution laws.[26]
Although Molson Coors said they did not know about the volatile organic compounds they were emitting, they do claim to be environmentally aware. Coors has also implemented a quarterly Supplier Quality Scorecard for their growers which tracks sustainable performance metrics such as emissions, energy consumption, and water consumption.[27]
In an in-depth analysis of the climate change "countermovement", the Coors Affiliated Foundation was listed among the top donors, having funded roughly 1% (US$6.2 million) of all climate denial research conducted between 2003 and 2010.[28] [29]