Boston Beer Company ( SAM ) Inc shares soared Friday with a report the company is nearing a sale in a move that could be a big change for one of best-known beer stocks.

What Happened: Boston Beer ( SAM ) could be nearing a sale that would value the company at a premium to its current $3 billion market capitalization.  

A Wall Street Journal report said Boston Beer ( SAM ) is in talks with Suntory, the owner of Jim Beam.  

Boston Beer ( SAM ) owns the flagship Samuel Adams beer brand and owner of Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea, Angry Orchard Hard Cider, Dogfish Head beer, Truly Hard Seltzer and several other brands.

The company was founded by Jim Koch in 1984. Koch is the chairman of the company and holds 100% of the voting rights via Class B shares, which makes his approval of a deal necessary.

Boston Beer ( SAM ) CEO Dave Burwick retired in April.

Related Link: Boston Beer Company Gets A Spicy Buy Upgrade From Analyst Amid Other Beer Brands – Read Why

Why It's Important: Suntory is the owner of Jim Beam and Maker's Mark and several beer, spirits and wine brands. The company is also a bottler of PepsiCo ( PEP ) brands in several international markets like Japan and Vietnam. Suntory paid $13.6 billion for Beam in 2014.

Boston Beer ( SAM ) and Suntory signed a partnership for ready-to-drink beverages in 2021.

The potential acquisition comes with Boston Beer ( SAM ) shares down around 25% on the year and as several beer companies have declared bankruptcy.

The company saw its shares soar when Truly Hard Seltzer was launched and hard seltzers saw a boom for several years.  

SAM Price Action: Boston Beer ( SAM ) shares are up 21.52% to $311.58 on publication Friday. Shares were briefly halted as the report led to a price spike.

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