G Heileman Brewing Co

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a preliminary injunction barring the proposed $63-million sale of Pabst to G. Heileman Brewing Co. until an antitrust challenge to the deal has been tried. The sale is being challenged in U.S. District Court in Detroit by Stroh Brewing Co. and Christian Schmidt Brewing Co. The appeals court said there was enough evidence to merit a trial, scheduled for March 28 in Detroit.

Milwaukee-based Pabst Brewing Co. said its board would support an offer of $10 a share, or about $64 million, for the company's stock by S&P Co., headed by California brewer Paul Kalmanovitz. Because of a dispute in court between Pabst and two other brewers, however, the company had to officially take a neutral position on the Kalmanovitz offer, a spokesman said. A court hearing is scheduled in Detroit in late March on whether to permanently bar G. Heileman Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wis.

A brewing industry rival of wealthy Australian businessman Alan Bond revealed today that he is putting together a rescue package for the troubled conglomerate that owns Wisconsin's G. Heileman Brewing Co. and the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. John Elliott, chairman of Fosters Lager brewer Elders IXL Limited, said talks have been under way for several weeks and the package should be in place by the end of this month.

Australian brewer Alan Bond launched a $38-a-share buyout offer Friday for G. Heileman Brewing Co., the fourth-largest U.S. beer maker, in a $1.01-billion deal that Bond said would create a major international brewing business. Stock in the La Crosse-based Heileman soared after a subsidiary of Perth, Australia-based Bond Corp. Holdings offered publicly to acquire the company's 26.6 million common shares outstanding.

G. Heileman Brewing Co., one of the nation's largest beer-makers, today filed for financial reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The La Crosse-based brewery will enter a court-supervised reorganization in an agreement with major creditors for debt restructuring, said Thomas J. Rattigan, who joined the company last week as chairman and chief executive officer. Heileman has been troubled by debts as a result of its acquisition years ago by Bond Corp.

Bond Negotiating to Acquire Stroh: Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd. Chairman Alan Bond said his Australian brewing conglomerate is negotiating to buy at least part of Detroit-based Stroh Brewing, a privately held company that is the No. 3 U.S. beer producer. But a stumbling block remains because Bond is seeking a controlling interest of Stroh and the Stroh family has said it wants to sell only a minority interest. Bond, a yachtsman whose debt-laden Bond Holdings has been attempting to weather a recent credit-rating cut and poor results, said he would merge his Lacrosse, Wis.-based G. Heileman Brewing Co. with Stroh if the negotiations succeed.

Australian entrepreneur Alan Bond, who captured the America's Cup seven years ago, is fighting to prevent the collapse of his financially troubled brewing and media empire, which is more than $5 billion in debt. If the Bond empire collapses, it would be the biggest failure in Australian corporate history. As creditors demand that the company make delinquent payments, Bond Corp. Holdings Ltd.