Labatt Breweries

The Labatt Breweries are a Canadian beer company based in Toronto, ON that was the owner of the Toronto Blue Jays from the team's creation in 1976 until the brewery was sold to the Belgium-based Interbrew S.A. in June of 1995.

Labatt was one of three traditional large breweries in Canada, alongside Molson and Carling O'Keefe. Its signature products were the Labatt Blue and Labatt 50. Both of its competitors were heavily invested in sports before Labatt emerged as the owner of the expansion Blue Jays, with Molson owning the Montréal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, and O'Keefe being the principal sponsor of the Montréal Expos. At first, Labatt was only a part owner of the team, with 45% of the shares while Imperial Trust Limited owned 45% as well, and the remaining 10% were owned by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Imperial Trust was an offshore trust company based in the British Virgin Islands serving as an arms-length investment vehicle for very rich Canadians, so most of the business decisions were made by Labatt, who were really the face of the ownership group. In November 1991, Labatt, under the name "John Labatt Limited" bought out Imperial Trust to become 90% owners, officializing its de facto position.

The 1980s and early 1990s were rough years in the Canadian brewing industry, as the country opened its doors to foreign brands brewed under licence (Budweiser and Coors started being sold domestically in those years) and Carling O'Keefe merged with Molson in 1989 after having been sold to Australian owners two years earlier. Those moves opened up an opportunity for Labatt, which took over as the main advertiser for the Expos in addition to its ownership of the Blue Jays. Labatt also changed its name, emphasizing the heritage of its founder, John Labatt, to counter the rather negative image of its two leading brands, Blue being considered a lowest common denominator product, and 50 catering to a niche market similar to that of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the United States. Labatt continued to lose market share, however, and in 1995 it was bought out by Interbrew, who acquired the Blue Jays as an aside in the deal.

While the 1991-1995 period may not have been great from a beer business standpoint, it was another matter on the field. The Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993 and set numerous attendance records during the period, the greatest in the franchise's history.

Labatt had first attempted to buy the San Francisco Giants in order to relocate them to Toronto. In fact, a tentative deal was announced in January of 1976, for $13,3 million, but due to the objections of the team's fans, San Francisco, CA Mayor George Moscone filed an injunction to prevent the move and the deal fell through. Labatt then switched its focus to obtaining an expansion franchise, which it did a few months later.