In the latest in a series of shakeups on the Michigan craft beer scene, Royal Oak’s Roak Brewing Co. will acquire Marshall-based Dark Horse Brewing, Roak’s owner says.

Roak co-owner and president John Leone said Thursday that the acquisition will be more of a merger than a buyout, allowing Dark Horse owner Aaron Morse to have owner’s interest in the company.

Dark Horse already has filed for an ownership transfer with the state Liquor Control Commission, and Leone said the merger could be done as early as December.

The move will allow the two companies to share a sales force and financial resources, Leone said, helping ensure that both can survive in a competitive craft beer market. Leone will be CEO of the joined companies.

“It allows us to maintain and grow, and to compete in this incredibly competitive environment in Michigan,” Leone said.

“We know that by joining forces, we’ll continue to be able to stick around.”

Dark Horse has made a name for itself in the last 19 years, becoming one of Michigan's top independent breweries by volume and landing its Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead the 5th on BeerAdvocate's top 250 beers in the world.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of business changes for Michigan breweries.

Earlier this week, Auburn Hills' Rochester Mills Production Brewery announced it is being bought by a California-based brewer that plans on expanding its cannabis-infused brews to Michigan. Michigan giant Founders Brewing Co. is ceding 90% of its ownership to its Spanish partner, the company announced in late August.

The Roak-Dark Horse merger won’t change either company’s product or production at this point, Leone said — it’ll be a consolidation of resources. The brands’ sales forces will merge and work on expanding distribution and marketing while the companies seek to add more salespeople, Leone said.

Each brewer might begin offering the other’s products at its taproom and the brewers could eventually share brewing facilities, but Leone said there’s no plans to mix the companies’ distinctive brands.

“The companies will be very independent from a branding standpoint and an image standpoint,” Leone said.

While Roak announced about a year ago that it would acquire Traverse City-based Right Brain Brewery, Leone said the move “just didn’t work out.” He declined to give details on why the merger never happened, but said he’s much more confident about the Dark Horse acquisition, which he said is much farther along than the Right Brain merger.

If successful, this merger should allow both companies to improve and grow while still giving craft beer fans the product they’ve come to expect, Leone said.

“The things that you love about Roak and Dark Horse, we’re going to maintain those things,” Leone said.

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