ZX Ventures purchased parent company Atom Group for an undisclosed sum in 2018, to scale its global operations and e-commerce platform.
Atom Group includes online retailer Master of Malt, drinks wholesaler Master of Malt Trade, spirits producer Atom Brands and spirits distributor Maverick Drinks.
“I am incredibly proud to be able to say that we are once again a fully independent and 100% founder-owned business,” said Petszaft.
“We can now focus on growing an ecosystem comprising every link in the premium spirits value chain, which is also open to the rest of the industry as a platform and service provider. When I built the first Master of Malt website back in 1999, I had no idea then that I would still be here a quarter of a century later,” Petszaft continued.
“In April 2018, we decided that the best way forward to grow the business would be to find a new owner. We went into the AB Inbev relationship with a lot of excitement and energy, we felt they were as ambitious and excited by how technology could transform the drink's industry as we were.
“However, despite the progress we made, it eventually became clear that Atom was still too early in its life cycle to fit well within AB InBev and make the most of the resources available. In many ways, we were and still are much more like a startup than an established mature business with stable processes which can be easily scaled,” Petszaft added.
“I was over the moon when AB InBev reached out to float the buyback proposition, and we spent the next few weeks working night and day to put together a transition plan.
“I could not be more grateful to AB InBev for their support over the years, and their unparalleled professionalism and decency in recognising that Atom could only reach its full potential as an independent founder-lead company and facilitating the transition back to independence,” Petszaft continued.
