In addition to its St. Louis headquarters, 80-year-old Major Brands has offices in Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City and Springfield, and more than 9,000 customers in Missouri.

Founded in 2000 by Bill Reichhardt, Missouri Beverage has about 2,000 customers and 70 employees.

“The outstanding performance MoBev has delivered to its suppliers and customers will only be furthered at Major Brands,” Reichhardt, MoBev president, said in a statement.

In April 2013, Chicago-based Wirtz Corp., the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, acquired a minority stake in MoBev. As part of the acquisition of MoBev by Major Brands, members of the Wirtz family are making an unspecified investment in Major Brands.

“Under the direction of a strong leadership team, (MoBev) has successfully aligned with new supplier partners and transformed itself into an energetic and progressive wholesale distributor of wine, spirits and beer,” Wirtz president Rocky Wirtz said in a statement. “We are excited to maintain and ultimately grow our presence in the marketplace.”

Lisa Brown is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @LisaBrownSTL and the Business section @postdispatchbiz.

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