Anchor Brewing Co. bought by Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya

Turkish billionaire and Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya has acquired US craft-beer business Anchor Brewing Co. from Sapporo Holdings.

Ulukaya’s company Shepherd Future has snapped up the Anchor brand and all of its assets. The San-Francisco-based brewery, which was bought by Sapporo for $85m in 2017, ceased production last year.

Last year, Sapporo said several attempts to sell Anchor Brewing had been unsuccessful and subsequently it needed to liquidate the business to pay creditors.

The Japanese company’s US unit cited challenging economic conditions and declining sales, which it said “made the business no longer sustainable”.

Anchor Brewing employees had made a last-ditch effort to save the brewery from liquidation but no deal was struck between workers and Sapporo.

Ulukaya said: “San Francisco is at the heart of Anchor Brewing, and Anchor embodies so much of what makes this city great.

“I have learned so much about Anchor and its role in San Francisco’s journey, and I look forward to doing whatever I can to support this amazing story of revitalisation.”

Anchor Brewing was founded in 1896 and survived being burnt down during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the prohibition period, and both world wars. The brewery was under threat of closure prior to being acquired and revived by Frederick Louis Maytag in 1965.

Ulukaya founded Chobani in 2005. The company initially was a Greek-style yogurt producer but has expanded its portfolio in recent years.

Last year, Chobani acquired the US coffee business La Colombe for $900m. Ulukaya had previously made an investment in La Colombe and was its largest shareholder.

Earlier in 2023, Keurig Dr Pepper had paid $300m for a 33% stake in La Colombe earlier this year, becoming its second-largest investor behind the then majority shareholder Ulukaya. Chobani’s acquisition of La Colombe saw Keurig Dr Pepper convert its shareholding in La Colombe for an undisclosed stake in the US dairy group.