KALAMAZOO, MI -

is officially a family-owned company. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the company is owned entirely by its founder Larry and his two children, Laura, 27, and David, 24.

"The company is 100 percent owned by the Bell family now," Larry said. "It really clears the way for the company to continue to grow and get financing and for me to be able to make arrangements to pass the company on to the next generation. Hell, I'm going to be 55 in a few months."

Bell and his children had owned a majority of the company's 60,000 shares, but a bout with cancer four years ago prompted Larry to think more about the future of the company. The company spent more than $100,000 on legal fees in early 2012 to tender an offer to shareholders; however, no resolutions were made, which led to a more hardball approach.

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Last year, Bell said he was considering selling the state's oldest and largest brewery if he could not convince 11 shareholders to sell their holdings in the privately held company. He also froze a $52 million expansion project announced in 2010 in an effort to take complete ownership of the company.

"The option we're doing is keeping it in the family, which, quite honestly, is the hardest option because of tax structure," he said. "But we can have fun in the business and we don't have to answer to a corporate entity or Wall Street or people looking at the bottom line. We can make kooky beer if we want to."

In February, Bell announced he was reinvesting in the "fiercely independent" company after resolving shareholder issues, taking previous projects off hold. The company spent $20 million to expand its production facility and more than $3 million on renovations to downtown Kalamazoo's Bell's Eccentric Cafe.

He said the company will spend between $10-$12 million in 2013 on capital improvements, including a wastewater system, a fermentation cellar and a canning line at the Comstock facility and additional work to the cafe at 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. The canning line should be in installed this spring. He also plans to build a sports bar and a restaurant at the Cafe.

MORE: Bell's Brewery remains 'fiercely independent' after resolving shareholder issues, plans to invest $15 million in 2013

Dwindling shareholders

The company had 60 investing shareholders when the company was formed in 1983 but that number has dwindled to three.

In March 2006, there were 39 shareholders in the company, with Larry owning 56.2 percent, according to a document previously provided by a former shareholder who asked not to be named.

In 2007, several shareholders filed a lawsuit in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court. While those shareholders eventually settled and parted ways, other shareholders continued to have investments in the company.

According to court documents, the plaintiffs said that in 2005, "defendant Bell began to execute a plan designed to reduce the number of shareholders and increase his own percentage of ownership in Bell's Brewery. The lawsuit was dismissed in November, 2008, and several former shareholders would not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.

Gloria and David Badiner, of Mattawan, who had been shareholders for more than 20 years, and Terry Gilbertson, a former chairman of the board at Bell's in the early '80s, sold their last shares last year, according to earlier reports. Gordon Squires, who became a shareholder in 1985 and helped build the original brewery, still had 90 shares of the company in 2012. On Wednesday, he refused to comment on selling his shares.

"A real mentor and benefactor to me was the late Paul Todd Jr., who owned Kalsec Inc.," Larry said. "He was extremely helpful in getting the brewery running, as was the Hanka family and many others, who were supportive, but now we need to be a family business to move forward."

Laura Bell, the director of marketing and a company owner for seven years, said employees were "enthusiastic and gave sighs of relief" upon receiving the news.

"The amount of excitement and emotion was a testament to how much of a family we are," she said. "We do feel, on most days, like one big family."

For now, Laura will continue operating as the director of marketing. David, 24, who lives in Washington, D.C., will also continue having a "moonlight" role in the company, where he does not hold a formal title but hosts Bell's-related events in that market.

The news comes days before one of Bell's biggest events of the year: Oberon Day. The annual release of its popular summer ale on March 25 is being celebrated with Oberon release parties all over the state and country at midnight March 24.

"I am grateful to have those people invest in me and the brewery way back when," Larry said. "I'm very proud of the money we made for the people who invested and I hope they are happy with what we did for them."

Reporter John Liberty contributed to this report. Contact Ursula Zerilli at uzerilli@mlive.com or 269-254-5295. Follow her on twitter.