You want to sell your brewery? Then it's good to know what the takeover market in the brewery field looks like. The brewing industry is innovative, resilient and one of a kind. Where it used to stop with a few dozen breweries in the Netherlands, today there are more than 700 active: from century-old brewers to startups.
In the field of acquisitions, we obviously have the acquisition king: Heineken. The strategy of this superpower is impressive, but in the beer sector acquisitions are still quite new. A few years ago, there were no acquisitions and mergers in this area of the alcohol industry because there were mainly large, century-old breweries.
There are many ways to value a business. A common method of expressing the value of a business is "a factor x gross annual profit." This factor is also called multiple and another designation for gross annual profit is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).
In the agri and food sector - to which a brewery belongs - an indicative EBITDA-multiple range of 5.4 to 6.1 is currently used, according to the Brookz Takeover Barometer. The average EBITDA multiple across all SME sectors is 4.90.
The valuation of a business is often the starting point for negotiations between buyer and seller. The outcome of these negotiations is the final sales price. So valuation and price are two different quantities. Besides valuation, the price is also determined by possible scarcity in the market, bargaining power of the parties, the strategic value of the business for the buyer and possible synergy effects for the buyer (cost savings, purchasing advantages).
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Do you want to buy a business or sell a business in the Agri & Food sector? With this Brookz Sector Monitor we want to present buyers and sellers with facts, figures and an outlook that provide insight into the number of transactions, the value development of businesses and the latest trends and developments in the Agri & Food. Because in every buying or selling process, thorough preparation gives peace of mind, overview and structure.
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In numerical terms, the picture of breweries in 2024 looked as follows(CBS):
With this online training from Brookz you are optimally prepared to largely sell your business yourself: 25 Powerpoint videos, a comprehensive valuation report, legal model contracts, handy templates, checklists and expert support. Plus 50% discount on listing your business on Brookz!
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A number of trends and developments will inevitably cause changes in the coming years, but also offer breweries many growth and acquisition opportunities:
Online shopping has seen great development last year, but for the beer industry, the outlet market is questionable. Direct-to-consumer delivery has not fared well for all major beer products, ABN Amro reports. Consumers do require alcoholic refreshments, but will mostly take it directly from the supermarket or have it delivered to their homes.
Pils is still the equivalent of a beer, but a shift is taking place here. Demand for fruity beer flavors, non-alcoholic beer and specialty beers is increasing. The FoodService Institute indicates that craft beer (traditionally brewed) is also in demand and will become more popular in the coming years.
The FoodService Institute and the Stichting Erfgoed Nederlandse Biercultuur both indicate that there is more interest in the background of beers. Breweries are boosting beer sales by offering more training. A few years ago coffee, tea and wine were hip, but today we are running in droves to get our beer license or take a Masterclass in high-end beers.
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