As if Bostonians need another reason to love Sam A
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Posted On: 05/14/2020 11:41:04 AM
As if Bostonians need another reason to love Sam Adams, The New York Times has a piece today about the company’s IPO back in 1995 was structured to prioritize actual customers rather than Wall Street fat cats.
When Jim Koch took the Boston Beer Company – Sam Adams’ parent company – public he sold shares at two different prices: $15 a share for customers, and $20 for those who bought via the Goldman Sachs-run IPO. Koch was apparently motivated by a desire to reward his loyal customers, in the belief that doing so would only strengthen his business.
So how did this actually work? It gets even weirder:
…HE IMPROVISED, HANGING FLIERS ON SIX-PACKS OF BEER THAT VERY CAREFULLY INFORMED CUSTOMERS THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUY $500 WORTH OF SHARES IN AN EVENTUAL PUBLIC OFFERING. “WE WERE LIMITED TO WHAT YOU COULD MANAGE TO SAY ON A SIX-PACK, AND ALSO BY WHAT THE LAWYERS WOULD LET US SAY,” HE RECALLS…
…SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION RULES REQUIRED MR. KOCH TO INDICATE IN ADVANCE HOW MANY SHARES HE WOULD SELL DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS, HE SAYS. HE CAME UP WITH AN ESTIMATE OF 30,000 BUYERS — BUT IT WAS ONLY A GUESS, AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE WAY TOO LOW. INSTEAD, HE SAYS, MORE THAN 100,000 WOULD-BE SHAREHOLDERS SENT IN CHECKS. HE USED A LOTTERY TO SELECT 30,000, SENDING THE REST OF THE CHECKS BACK.
When Jim Koch took the Boston Beer Company – Sam Adams’ parent company – public he sold shares at two different prices: $15 a share for customers, and $20 for those who bought via the Goldman Sachs-run IPO. Koch was apparently motivated by a desire to reward his loyal customers, in the belief that doing so would only strengthen his business.
So how did this actually work? It gets even weirder:
…HE IMPROVISED, HANGING FLIERS ON SIX-PACKS OF BEER THAT VERY CAREFULLY INFORMED CUSTOMERS THAT THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUY $500 WORTH OF SHARES IN AN EVENTUAL PUBLIC OFFERING. “WE WERE LIMITED TO WHAT YOU COULD MANAGE TO SAY ON A SIX-PACK, AND ALSO BY WHAT THE LAWYERS WOULD LET US SAY,” HE RECALLS…
…SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION RULES REQUIRED MR. KOCH TO INDICATE IN ADVANCE HOW MANY SHARES HE WOULD SELL DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMERS, HE SAYS. HE CAME UP WITH AN ESTIMATE OF 30,000 BUYERS — BUT IT WAS ONLY A GUESS, AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE WAY TOO LOW. INSTEAD, HE SAYS, MORE THAN 100,000 WOULD-BE SHAREHOLDERS SENT IN CHECKS. HE USED A LOTTERY TO SELECT 30,000, SENDING THE REST OF THE CHECKS BACK.
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