Saothair Capital Buys FIFCO USA; Back to North American Breweries

Saothair Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of CCR American Holdings — the company that operated as FIFCO USA — from Distribuidora La Florida, a subsidiary of Heineken N.V. The Rochester, New York company returns to its former name, North American Breweries, and brings in Peter Bodenham as CEO, a 25-year industry veteran with prior senior roles at InBev, NAB, and Sleeman.

NAB's portfolio spans Labatt, Genesee, Seagram's Escapes, Lipton Hard Iced Tea, and Bubly Wine Refresher, produced at the Genesee Brewery — one of the oldest and largest continually operating breweries in the U.S., employing more than 700. It's also one of the country's largest full-service contract brewers; contract manufacturing is roughly a quarter of its production.

The sale completes the separation of the U.S. business from FIFCO's former Central American operations — Heineken agreed in September 2025 to acquire the remaining stake in Distribuidora La Florida and other FIFCO beverage assets in a deal valued around $3.2 billion.

Saothair says it will keep investing in the Genesee Brewery and the brand portfolio — which had more than $200 million in modernization since 2012, including a new brewhouse and a canning line capable of around 1,500 cans per minute.