Area distributor purchases Ohio company for $31 million

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch distributor based in east Manatee County, has purchased an alcoholic beverage distribution company, Ohio-based Clermont Distributing, for $31 million. 

Clermont Distributing has been folded into Ohio Eagle, a subsidiary of Gold Coast Eagle. Gold Coast purchased Ohio Eagle four years ago and operates in three Ohio counties that are suburbs of Dayton and Cincinnati: Preble, Warren and Butler.