In industry first, Tempo purchases Shapiro craft beer brewery

Tempo execs on the left; Shapiro family on the right:
Negotiating an industry first in Israel. 

Tempo Beer Industries in Netanya has purchased the Shapiro Brewery in Beit Shemesh, a family-owned business and one of the leading Israeli craft breweries since 2011.  Tempo is the larger of Israel's two industrial breweries, with brands including Goldstar, Maccabee, Nesher and Heineken, plus wines, soft drinks and many imported beverages.  

This acquisition marks the first time that an Israeli craft brewery has been purchased by a major industrial brewer.  Tempo obtained a 51% share of the Shapiro Brewery.  

Itzik Shapiro, president of the brewery and one of the three brothers and one sister involved in the administration, announced that the brewery "will continue to do what we have until now, but we are now able to realize our plans and our new projects sooner than we could have imagined."

Two-thirds of the Shapiro siblings:
(from left) Avi, Itzik, Tamar, Dani.

It's understood that the merger will benefit Tempo by adding a respected and quality craft beer to their portfolio, and will give Shapiro access to Tempo's vast distribution network of over 11,000 points of sale in Israel.  Tempo will also be making undisclosed investments in the Shapiro Brewery, aimed at growing the production and fostering new projects.

The possibility of export sales was also hinted at by Dani Shapiro, VP of the Shapiro Brewery, when he noted that the Tempo-Shapiro mutual vision now includes making Shapiro, "a leading craft brewer in our region."

Dani Shapiro added that the purchase was a "mutual initiative."  The brewery, he revealed, "was interested for years in how Tempo was going to respond to the craft industry, and I'm sure Tempo themselves had their eyes open to what was going on here.  Both sides showed a keen interest, and I assume the industry reached a point which made this relationship possible." 

Shapiro Brewery President Itzik Shapiro
mans the taps at the Jerusalem Beer Festival.

In North America and Europe, such acquisitions in the past have sometimes led to the complete absorption of the craft brewery into the industrial giant.  In these cases, the craft management and brewers were eventually pensioned off, and even the production of the beer, or most of it, was moved to the parent brewery.  All that was left of the craft beer was the brand name.  

Dani stressed that this would not be the case in the Tempo-Shapiro deal.  Shapiro's management and brewing team, he said, will not be changed because of this acquisition, and "all production will remain at the Shapiro Brewery both immediately and long-term.

"Both sides have a deep understanding," he continued, "that we complement each other's strengths.  Tempo excels in producing and distributing beer on a high volume, commercial level, and we excel in producing craft beers.  We will continue to do what we're best at, and Tempo will be there to enhance and expedite our capabilities as a craft brewery."

Shapiro beers, both the core brews and the seasonal ones, are highly esteemed by Israeli beer lovers of all ages.  Their consistent quality attests to the professionalism of the management and the very talented brewing team.  We hope that this continues -- and even improves -- as Shapiro begins this new phase in the brewery's growth and development.