Buy Beloved Brands Run by Nobody

“[We look for] companies that are extraordinary in spite of those executives who’re in and out every three years, of not having owners for a number of generations. They have to have something: a strong brand, a distribution system, a franchise, something that enables them to survive and still be excelente. Usually, these companies are in boring sectors, that don’t carry the charm of Wall Street, of Silicon Valley... These companies don’t attract top talent anymore.”

“Ever since their acquisition of Brahma, the trio had dreamed of owning Budweiser. It was not only the world’s largest brewery, but also had what was probably the world’s best portfolio of beer brands. To make it an even more attractive target, AB possessed a tripod of (1) meager financial and (2) operational results, as well as (3) diffused stock ownership.”