Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, a California craft brewery with an avid following, has filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is on its way to an IPO offering.
Exact common stock pricing isn’t yet known and Ballast Point management cannot say much at the moment, due to a silence period required by the SEC. But the company did say that it plans to issue up to 20 million shares and expects the stock offering to bring in about $172 million. Founder Jack White and his family will still have ultimate control of the company, retaining over fifty percent of outstanding shares.
Another part of any IPO filing is full disclosure of financial records. SEC filings show that Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits is growing at a dizzying pace with revenues increasing from $27.4 million in 2013 to $53.7 million in just the first half of 2015. Profits are also doing quite well, rising from $11.8 million to $26.3 million during the same time period. Such rapid growth could easily crush an unprepared business, but Ballast Point has kept pace and is apparently doing well.
Ballast Point Brewing is popular among craft beer die- hards and is probably best known for its Sculpin IPA, which also ranks as its best seller and most popular craft beer in San Diego County. Sculpin IPA first hit the craft beer scene in 2005, nine years after the company’s founding in 1996. The regular lineup at Ballast Point includes about 15 different beers, but the popularity of IPA is responsible for most of Ballast Point’s fan frenzy.
“As we’ve seen the craft beer trend really go upward, IPAs have really led the charge,” said Nick Petrillo, analyst for IBISWorld Market Research. “They’re the complete antithesis of macro beer.”
Ballast Point management echoed these words in its SEC documents.
“Our future operating results, particularly in the near term, are significantly dependent upon the continued market acceptance of these products, and in consumer preference for” India pale ales, the brewery said in the IPO filing.
Ballast Point is the first Southern California Brewery to go public and, once the SEC approves the IPO filing, it will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PINT. Stay tuned to Great Beer Now for the IPO trading dates and other important information as it becomes available.
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