Anheuser-Busch InBev‘s incubator arm ZX Ventures has handed back UK-based e-commerce drinks business Atom Group to its founder, Justin Petszaft.
Financial details of the deal were not revealed.
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The Leffe brewer used ZX Ventures to acquire the drinks retailing group in 2018 for an undisclosed sum.
As part of the transaction at the time, ZX snapped up Atom’s three business divisions: global e-commerce retailer Master of Malt, the creator of UK-based brands such as Bathtub Gin, Atom Brands, and Atom’s distribution leg Maverick Drinks.
Petszaft has now taken back 100% of Atom Group’s assets, the company confirmed.
Commenting on the news, Petszaft said: “I am incredibly proud to be able to say that we are once again a fully independent and 100% founder-owned business.
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By GlobalData“We can now focus on growing a beautiful ecosystem comprising every link in the premium spirits value chain, which is also open to the rest of the industry as a platform and service provider”.
Speaking on the group’s work with AB InBev since 2018, he said while the initial sale to the Stella Artois producer seemed “the best way forward to grow the business” back then, “it eventually became clear that Atom was still too early in its life cycle to fit well within AB InBev and make the most of the resources available”.
He added: “In many ways, we were and still are much more like a startup than an established mature business with stable processes which can be easily scaled.”
Just Drinks has reached out to AB InBev for comment.
Set up by the Corono Cero maker in 2015, ZX Ventures’ investment portfolio includes brands such as Goose Island beers, Jamaican Rum Vibes rum RTDs, and UK-based online beer retailer Beer Hawk.
In 2018, the incubator invested into Swish Beverages, producer of Babe canned wines, fully acquiring the producer the following year. In March 2023, AB InBev decided to discontinue sales of Babe alongside Hiball, which it acquired in 2017, as it looked to “prioritise the brands within our portfolio that will drive category and company growth”.
