A beer company has been put up for sale in one of the most ambitious crowdsourcing strategies seen on the internet to date.
Pabst Brewing Co, which is 165-years-old and the third largest beer company in the US according to 2008 sales, has been up for sale by the IRS since 2000 due to complications with ownership. Its owner, a non-profit organisation, was ordered to sell the company or lose its tax-free status.
A 2005 sales deadline has now been extended until 2010, and two advertising agencies are taking advantage of the time they have.
Forzo Migliozzi and the Ad Store have created BuyABeerCompany.com. The site requests fans above 21-years to donate between $US5-250,000 each to put towards an acquisition.
Money will be accepted if the acquisition is successful, at which point all donators will receive a certificate of ownership and “enough beer to match their pledge”.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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