Bell’s Brewery to be acquired by Australian brewer Lion, founder to retire

Bell’s Brewery founder Larry Bell has reached an agreement with Australian brewer Lion, the parent company of New Belgium Brewing, to sell Bell’s.

The deal will see Michigan’s second-largest craft brewer come together with Colorado-based New Belgium, which was acquired by Lion in 2019.

Bell’s was founded in 1985 by Larry Bell, who has announced his plans to retire from the business. Following the transaction, there are no plans to change the brewer’s line-up of beers, which is distributed across 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome the entire Bell’s team,” said New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer. “Joining together will immediately strengthen our ability to serve and expand the craft community, deliver more value for our partners and continue to redefine how business is done in a world facing historic economic, social and environmental challenges.”

As part of the alliance with New Belgium, Bell’s plans to expand its environmental, sustainability and workplace initiatives, including by seeking to attain Certified B Corporation status, achieve 100% carbon neutrality by 2030 and score 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

The deal is expected to close in the coming months. Financial terms were not disclosed.