Back in October 2015, Marx Financial procured financing for Baderbräu Brewing’s flagship 25,000-sq-ft brewery in the South Loop of Chicago. 2015 was an exciting year for craft beer — a time when someone could actually sell a craft brewery for $1 billion. Marx Financial organized a complex, multi-instrument financial transaction for Baderbräu, which included equipment funding, working capital, refinancing of existing debt and infrastructural and renovation financing. Marx was able to secure a competitive interest rate, maximum leverage, a 16-year fixed term loan for infrastructure build out, equipment and working capital for the newly leased South Loop Chicago location.
Alas, this would not be enough to keep Baderbräu in business. While the financial details are not available, the company’s assets — 152 items from Baderbräu — are currently up for action, including everything from filing cabinets, chairs and coolers to canning equipment, conveyors, air compressors and pallet jacks. It ranges from a 70-bbl brewhouse to a single indoor plant.
Baderbräu is in fact a revitalized beer brand that was originally established in the 1980s. At its peak (in the ‘90s) Baderbräu Pilsener was served in over 200 bars in the city. The reinvention of Baderbräu started with Goose Island, which brewed it briefly in the ‘90s. Chicago beer enthusiasts Rob Sama and Joe Berwanger would take up this latest Baderbräu iteration.
Good news was still surfacing for the Baderbräu brand as recently as this January when it partnered with Lyft for discount ride beers, but apparently bigger things were going on behind the scenes. These are uncertain times indeed. Check out the auction listing right over here.
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