Baltimore already saw beloved local brew National Bohemian leave town years go. But earlier this fall, the town was shocked all over again when news came through that ownership of Mr. Boh was decamping for Russia. Well, turns out the deal to sell Natty Boh’s parent company to a Russian company.
According to the New York Times’ Dealbook, Pabst — which owns Natty Boh — wasn’t sold to a Russian company, despite a widely-circulated press release that said otherwise. The key player is Eugene Kashper, a Russian-born beverage titan whose company, Oasis Beverages, controls 12 percent of the Russian beer market.
The original release stated that Oasis was finalizing a deal to buy Pabst. But, in fact, Kashper teamed up with a San Francisco based firm to buy Pabst under a different entity. The company, Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, buy Pabst. But it kept PBR and Natty Boh based in stateside, Dealbook reports. In fact, Kashper doesn’t even live in Russia anymore, and has concerns about doing business there because of the current political climate.
Looks like Boh-lshevism is dead.
