John Labatt Ltd.

John Labatt Limited, with head offices in London, Ontario, is a management holding company which was begun as a small family brewery in 1847 by John Kinder LABATT. The company was incorporated in 1911 (in 1930 it was reconstituted to increase the number of shares available for distribution - 2500 [1911] to 90 000) and became public in 1945. Long Canada's second largest brewer, Labatt has had extensive interests in the entertainment industry, primarily the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Argonauts and The Sports Network. The principal company in the brewing group is Labatt Breweries of Canada. The company has also been involved, with Casco, in the Zymaize experiment, producing high-fructose syrup from corn. The corporation has made significant investments in the US, Mexico and the UK. In 1994 it had $2.3 billion in annual sales or operating revenue, assets of $2.5 billion and 5700 employees. A hostile takeover attempt in 1995 resulted in Labatt's purchase by Interbrew SA of Belgium and the sale of its broadcasting assets. Interbrew then took Labatt private so further sales figures are not available; however, Labatt is reckoned to have over 50% market share in the beer industry.