Pabst Takeover Bid Via Facebook And Twitter Panned By SEC

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It was a takeover attempt that fizzed out.

Two advertising executives who used Facebook and Twitter to find investors for their proposed $300 million takeover bid for Pabst Brewing Co have been ordered not to do anything like it again by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The regulator said Brian William Flatow and Michael Migliozzi failed to register with securities regulators and make necessary disclosures before directing investors to their website, BuyaBeerCompany.com.

According to the SEC, the men launched their website in November 2009, promising to give people hoping to invest in the maker of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old Milwaukee beer both certificates of ownership and "beer of a value equal to the amount invested."

By February 2010, the men claimed to have raised more than $200 million through more than 5 million pledges recorded on a "countdown timer" on their website, the SEC said.

The activity continued until the website was taken down in April 2010, the SEC said. In the end, Flatow and Migliozzi collected no money, and without admitting wrongdoing agreed to a cease-and-desist order not to undertake similar activity.

"Investors are entitled to know certain basic information about a company before being asked to invest," Scott Friestad, an associate SEC enforcement director, said in a statement.

"Just because would-be investors are being solicited online doesn't make them less deserving of the protections under our securities laws."

Flatow, 41, lives in Connecticut and was president of the advertising agency The Ad Store, the SEC said. Migliozzi, 45, lives in California and owned Forza Migliozzi, also an advertising agency, it added.

Steven Berkowitz, a lawyer for the men, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. A spokesman for Woodridge, Illinois-based Pabst also did not immediately return a call.

Founded in 1844, Pabst had been the largest privately-held U.S. brewer prior to being bought last June by Metropoulos & Co, a Greenwich, Connecticut investment firm, for an undisclosed price.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Comments

[moving violation]

10:20 PM on 06/13/2011

conning hipsters is way too easy

[Pierogi kid]

08:24 AM on 06/10/2011

THose kids who see this crap beer as some kind of authentic product are really acting like sheep. Please PBR does not even own its own brewery or even brew its onw beer, but rather has other brewers produce it on contract with their excess capacity. In the early 90s Pabst shut all its breweries down as well as Falstaff and Pearl in texas and gave its retiree's the royal shaft by discontinuing all their medical benefits. Pabst is a brand management company not a brewery. The only thing they brew is the Coffee in the break room. I wish hipsters would pick up on that and support a brewery that actually brews its own hallf way decent cheap beer like Genesee or Yuengling. Bunch of poesuers.

[ultrabop]

11:20 AM on 06/10/2011

Then what accounts for its consistently skunky and satisfying flavor?

[Pierogi kid]

11:39 AM on 06/10/2011

Pabst is brewed under contract by Miller Coors in one of their giant factory complex of breweries I beleive and if you like skunky beer ( i do too) go buy some Genny cream ale or Utica Club or even a Straub form Saint Mary's pa all still made by the regional breweries where they origniated from,

[gbrooks]

06:25 AM on 06/10/2011

Thank god the federal government is keeping us safe.

[cameron d]

01:04 AM on 06/10/2011

For the price it's really not all that bad of a beverage.

[chompchomp]

02:31 PM on 06/09/2011

Lots of PBR bashers here today. It's cheap and every bit as good as Miller Lite or Budweiser. Not everyone can afford to spend $10 on a six pack of beer every time, and you can do far worse than PBR for the price. Great to cook bratwurst in, though, why waste money on a microbrew for that purpose?

[sean0008]

06:01 PM on 06/09/2011

I will agree that you can do worse (any beer with "Light" or "Lite" in its name is worse), but you can also do much better without spending $10 or more for the premium stuff (although the truly premium stuff at a grocery store usually comes in 22 ounce bottles for anywhere from $4 to $8 a bottle). There are plenty of great six packs out there for $6 or $8. I guess it comes down to what you want out of your beer though. If you're just looking to get a cheap buzz, buy cheap beer. Then again, a strong craft beer is often significantly more alcoholic, so factor that into the price.

I can remember going to a bar in college (early 90s) where PBR was 50 cents a mug and $2 a pitcher during happy hour. It wasn't bad given the price. At least it had more flavor than a Bud Light. But even when I was a poor student/waiter I decided that I'd rather drink better beer to enjoy the taste and get less of a buzz (you can always do a shot of cheap tequila and chase it with a good beer if you want to get your buzz on).

[InVinoVeritasBC]

02:00 PM on 06/10/2011

Why are you judging their wallet? No, sometimes, we DON'T have the $2 extra to spare on something that isn't as important as rent, food, transportation. I'm glad there are low cost options for those of us who simply don't have the extra discretionary income. It's beer, not blood.

[DarkHelmut9er]

10:54 AM on 06/09/2011

Where was the SEC when Wall street was lying to investors and crashing our economy?

[nightfly4257]

12:55 PM on 06/09/2011

They are not connect to SEC unlike one Bernard Madoff. It helps to have friends in high places.

[DarkHelmut9er]

12:00 PM on 06/10/2011

Goldman Sachs sold mortgages they knew were bad, then bet on them failing. Lying to investors and manipulating the stock maket are things the SEC regulates.

[whogasa736]

07:28 AM on 06/09/2011

I did not even know PBR was still in business. If I was going to buy a 6 pack, PBR would be one of my last 10 picks.

[Godweiser]

09:36 AM on 06/09/2011

Hipsters drink it, because they feel it's a working class beer; they do it to be ironic, of course, and mock real working people.

[baxtron]

11:04 AM on 06/09/2011

MN rollergirls are sponsored by PBR. not bad. not great. they sell 16oz cans for $2, so it's popular.

[stevchipmunk]

04:31 AM on 06/09/2011

Some people don't like this beer. But evidently lots of people like this beer enough to put their money where their mouth says ($200 million). Money talks... all others don't need to come along with their cattle.

[dieselis]

02:00 AM on 06/09/2011

Is the blue ribbon for this beer's Yucky Taste? It's been probably 30 plus years and I still remember that yucky taste Glad someone likes it. Taking this beer to a picnic or party is the equivalence of giving out fruit cake for Thanksgiving. Then again to each his or her own,what do I know? Enjoy your Pabst people!

[dblueII]

07:37 PM on 06/08/2011

Evert last drop of the swill, along with these two geniuses should be flung from the w
Williamsburg bridge.

[Godweiser]

09:38 AM on 06/09/2011

Luckily, Germany's the new hip destination these days. And has anyone else made the connection between the E.Coli outbreak, the 'bio farm' responsible and the influx of ironically tattooed, retro-sunglass wearing, beardos moving in?

[sean0008]

05:23 PM on 06/08/2011

PBR is crappy beer anyway. I know hipsters are afraid to admit that, because it's so cool to drink the same beer Dennis Hopper's character so enthusiastically drank in Blue Velvet, but it's just not good beer. I guess from an investment perspective that matters little. Cheap beer with little flavor has been quite successful in our country, and PBR still seems to be trendy among those who think that microbrews are too expensive and fru-fru (and to be fair, there are a lot of mediocre microbrews out there today, but I'll drink pretty much any of them over PBR).

[J0E1]

06:23 PM on 06/08/2011

They received a blue ribbon for the beer.  Blue ribbon = winner!

[baxtron]

11:06 AM on 06/09/2011

it's no worse than Heinekin or Rolling Rock.

[sean0008]

05:50 PM on 06/09/2011

Heinekin and Rolling Rock both suck as well, but I'd drink one of those before a PBR.

[RevSpaminator]

04:47 PM on 06/08/2011

If these guys want to get into the brewing business they should come talk to me. May not have a brand (or a brewery yet or even a clue beyond my own kitchen) but I've got recipes that are damn good.

[Max Shaw]

03:57 PM on 06/08/2011

In other news, dont DRINK and Facebook...Many a picture is 'liked' at 3 am by some a**, or some message is sent to an ex that is riddled with spelling errors and smiley faces...Not a good look. Not at all.

[J0E1]

06:24 PM on 06/08/2011

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline.