AB InBev’s ZX Ventures acquires remaining stake in RateBeer

AB InBev’s venture capital division ZX Ventures has fully acquired US-based consumer review website RateBeer.

RateBeer founder Joe Tucker announced the deal, which will see the company look to expand in Australia.

The acquisition comes after AB InBev bought a minority stake in the firm in 2016, a deal that was not made public until 2017.

In a statement, Tucker said: “After ZX Ventures took a minority investment in RateBeer, we were able to make improvements to infrastructure, put out an in-house mobile app, and modernise key pages that, as the only full-time employee with help from some amazing admins and volunteer coders, I was never able to tackle.

“Now, with access to greater resources, we’ll be able to continue modernising the site, and expand into new areas, like an affiliate marketplace in Australia.

“RateBeer is a quality-focused organisation, and our value to the community has always depended on our integrity, and willingness to put in greater effort to produce more meaningful scores and information.”

He added that he will continue in his role as global community manager post-acquisition.

The ZX Ventures investment portfolio consists of beer brands such as Pirate Life, Camden Town Brewery and 4 Pines.

Last month, the division invested in Pensa Systems, a US developer of a new retail inventory visibility system that uses artificial intelligence and autonomous drones to see and understand what is on store shelves.