Molson Inc. is Canada's largest alcoholic beverage brewer with sales of more than $2 billion CDN in 2003, and 3,800 employees working at five breweries. The company controls about 45% of the Canadian beer market and tie for first place with Labatt.

The company was founded in 1786 by John Molson, making it North America's oldest brewing company. The first brewery was located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal.

Today Molson is the 13th largest brewer in the world. Molson's brands in Canada and the United States include Molson Canadian, Molson Canadian Light, Molson Ice, Molson Golden, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Stock Ale, Pilsner, Carling, Tornade and Calgary. In Brazil, Molson also owns the Brazilian brands Marca Bavaria and Kaiser, after two acquisitions in 2000 and 2002. It also brews Fosters Lager under licence for the United States and Canadian markets.

In addition to alcoholic beverages, Molson owns a 20% stake in the Montreal Canadiens, who historically have been the NHL's most successful hockey team. They also sponsor the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres.

In 2000 Molson attracted a great deal of media attention wth its "I Am Canadian" advertising campaign. The original sixty second commercial tried to define what it means to be Canadian based on many light-hearted and steoretypical images of Canada. This campaign generated a huge amount of publicity and received a Bronze Lion award at the international advertising awards in Cannes, France.

On July 22, 2004 the company announced it would be merging with American brewer Coors, to create the word's fifth-largest brewing company. The anticipated name for the company is Molson Coors Brewing Co. Molson shareholders voted on the proposed merger on January 28, 2005, and were heavily in favor of the merger. The new company will be controlled 55 percent by Molson shareholders, however the chief headquarters for Molson Coors will be in Golden, Colorado.

A residence hall and football stadium at McGill University are named after the Molson family. The Molson Prize is awarded for distinguished service to the Arts and Social Sciences.

The Concordia business school is called the John Molson School of Business.

Quotes

My beer has been universally well-liked beyond my most sanguine expectations. - John Molson, 1786

External link

• Welcome to Molson / Bienvenue sur le site Molson (http://www.molson.com/)