As first reported in the St. Louis Business Journal on Friday, the founders of The Saint Louis Brewery, Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman, are in preliminary discussions about selling their majority stakes in the company. James “Otto” Ottolini, head of brewing operations for Schlafly contacted Sauce to discuss what has transpired thus far and his involvement in these events.
“Tom and Dan are open to selling their controlling stake in the company. I’ve been talking to them and working on it. I got my MBA to assist with the exit strategy for the owners. I just didn’t expect to use it so soon,” stated Ottolini, who earned his MBA in May from Washington University’s Olin Business School Executive MBA program. “But this process could take years,” he added.
According to Ottolini, on June 2, Schlafly and Kopman met with him and eight other members of the company’s senior management to announce their intentions. The following day, the senior management group met to draft a statement notifying all employees. The statement was read to employees on June 7.
When asked which employees might be able to purchase a stake in the company, Ottolini responded that it is unclear at this time. “You can’t separate the (beer) brand from two restaurants. An employee stock ownership program with a restaurant? There are not many models like that. That’s almost putting the cart before the horse, because the main financing is going to have to come from somewhere else. You need to have an ownership group. It’s not like employees can pass the hat and have enough to buy the company.”
So who might be among those new investors? “Essentially, we’re looking for more Tom Schlaflys. We need to find someone who is happy with Tom Schlafly and a beer being called Schlafly,” replied Ottolini, adding that the investor would “need to know the right way to run a beer company – this beer company.”
Ottolini stated that the estimated worth of the company has yet to be determined but cited last year’s revenue as $11.7 million.
“It’s a great opportunity. This is not a distressed sale,” he said.
– Ligaya Figueras
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2010.