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. 

John Saputo, president and owner of Gold Coast Eagle, says the sale will increase Ohio Eagle's territory to also include Clinton, Highland, Clermont, Adams and Brown counties. 

Ohio Eagle will now have 4.5 million cases and $60 million in total sales volume, Saputo says. In the deal, Ohio Eagle picked up 30 new employees, which brings the entity to a total of 100 employees. 

The move, adds Saputo, makes Ohio Eagle the fifth largest distributor in Ohio. "We have plans whenever possible to expand (in Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch) and Ohio," says Saputo in an interview with the Business Observer.