Blue Ribbon Partners

The acquisition of Pabst Brewing Company, where Eugene Kashper served as Chairman and CEO. The firm acquired the brand rights and the Irwindale, California brewing facility, later selling the brand to a consortium that included Charlesbank Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management while retaining the underlying real estate. The Irwindale Brew Yard parcel was subsequently partially sold in 2023.

Blue Ribbon Partners operates through separate vehicles managed by its three founding principals. Eugene Kashper leads US-based consumer buyouts and brand turnarounds. Marco Janezic runs Blue Ribbon Partners GmbH in Germany, targeting European growth equity and public-private initiatives. Andy Appelbaum co-manages the real estate vertical independently from the consumer and growth equity operations.

The firm does not publicly disclose whether it raises pooled third-party capital. Its transaction history — co-investing alongside institutional partners like Charlesbank and Oaktree on City Brewing while retaining separate real estate assets — suggests it operates with proprietary or partner-aligned capital on a deal-by-deal basis rather than through a traditional fund structure.

The Pabst brand rights were sold to a Charlesbank and Oaktree-backed consortium. Blue Ribbon Partners retained the Irwindale Brew Yard real estate in California, selling the brewery parcel in September 2023 while holding onto adjacent retained land for separate long-term development. The firm also retained Pabst brand rights in China, a separate asset from the US brand sale.

Charlesbank Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management partnered with Blue Ribbon Partners in the consortium that acquired City Brewing Company, the manufacturing entity tied to Pabst's supply chain. Philipp Rösler, former Vice Chancellor of Germany, has also been identified as a business partner in European growth initiatives led by Marco Janezic's German arm.

Marco Janezic runs Blue Ribbon Partners GmbH from Germany and holds several external positions that connect the firm to European policy and entrepreneurial networks. He serves as a jury member for the European Innovation Council, evaluates proposals for EU-backed growth-stage funding, and is President of the Oxford Alumni Organization's Munich branch. He is also a member of Ashoka Support Network.

Eugene Kashper served as Chairman and CEO of Pabst Brewing Company following the acquisition by Blue Ribbon Partners. After the brand's sale to the Charlesbank-Oaktree consortium, his current operational role with Pabst is not publicly detailed, though his Chairman designation at Blue Ribbon Partners (US) continues to reflect his leadership of the firm's American consumer platform.