E-Malt.com News article: USA: Joseph R. Piccirilli to leave Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

Joseph R. Piccirilli, the man who brought Pittsburgh Brewing Co. out of bankruptcy in 1995 will leave it when the brewery emerges from bankruptcy, which is expected to happen this spring, Tribune Review published on January 17.

President Joseph R. Piccirilli, who bought the maker of Iron City and IC Light in a bankruptcy court auction in September 1995, "will not play a future role in management or be a significant shareholder once the investor group purchases (the brewery), other than assisting in the transition of management," John N. Milne, the brewery's prospective new owner said.

When Milne was revealed last month as the prospective buyer of the brewery, Milne's attorney, Robert Albergotti, said no promises were made to Piccirilli regarding his future role with the brewery.

"My commitment has always been to keep the brewery open. I'm on board with whatever needs to happen to help achieve that goal," Piccirilli said in a statement yesterday. Piccirilli is currently the majority owner of Pittsburgh Brewing, with 40 percent of the stock.

The brewery has been operating in bankruptcy since December 2005.

Milne, a private equity fund manager who heads Unified Growth Partners from Westport, Conn., will be the chief executive officer of Pittsburgh Brewing Acquisition LLC, which was formed in November to buy the Lawrenceville brewery. The identities of the other officers are not yet known.

Milne, who is forming an investment team, intends to buy the assets of the business, but not the stock, with an investment of more than $7 million.

Piccirilli has known Milne since the 1990s, when Piccirilli was president of his family-owned refuse hauling company in Ambridge, and Milne was an executive of United Waste Systems Inc. of Greenwich, Conn. Piccirilli sold his family business to one of United Waste's competitors.

The future of Pittsburgh Brewing's other main investor, Jack P. Cerone, is unknown, said Robert O. Lampl, the brewery's attorney. Cerone, a Chicago attorney, owns a 20 percent interest in the business. His $6 million claim on the brewery's assets, which Cerone obtained by spending $1.5 million to pay off two loans totalling $6 million, could be converted to equity in the brewery, Lampl said.

Cerone's Pittsburgh attorney, Donald Calaiaro, declined to comment.

Although the brewery was scheduled to file a reorganization plan yesterday, Bankruptcy Judge M. Bruce McCullough granted Pittsburgh Brewing's request to extend the deadline to Feb. 6. The brewery has until April 6 to win the creditors' approval of the plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The extra time was needed, Lampl said, because the two unions representing 160 bottlers and brewers will vote on a tentative labor contract Sunday. A new contract is a key element of the reorganization plan, because "without the labor piece, it is unlikely an ongoing operation would occur" at the Lawrenceville facility, Lampl said.

The new investor can use the extra time to negotiate with creditors, such as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Lampl said.

Meanwhile, representatives from Pittsburgh Brewing and the new investor met Monday with officials from Gov. Ed Rendell's office to discuss possible aid to the brewery, Lampl said.

The state's capital budget bill included $5 million for renovations and construction of a new building at a local brewery, but it did not mention Pittsburgh Brewing by name. Legislators place items on the capital budget, but the governor must allocate the funds.

Allen Kukovich, director of the Southwestern Regional Office of the Governor, could not be reached for comment.



19 January, 2007