J.F. Fick Inc., the Fredericksburg region’s exclusive Anheuser–Busch beverage distributor, has been sold to the largest Anheuser–Busch distributor in the state.
Virginia Eagle Distributing Co., which is headquartered in Augusta County, purchased the 78-year-old, family-owned company under a non-disclosure agreement earlier this month.
President and CEO J.F. Fick III decided to sell because his children “didn’t want to continue on with the business in the same way he did, and he thought we would be good stewards of the business,” said Scott Heinz, chief operating officer of Virginia Eagle Distributing. “It was a strategic fit with our company. We overlap with a lot of the same retail customers.”
The purchase gives Virginia Eagle its seventh location around the state, and expands its service area to Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania. The purchase will help it compete with Premium Distributors of Virginia, which is based in Alexandria, he said. Premium is owned by Reyes Holdings, which operates one of the largest beer distribution organizations in the United States.
