In an unprecedented move, ZX Ventures has sold Master of Malt back to founder Justin Petszaft just after six years.

ZX Ventures is the growth and innovation arm of beverage giant AB InBev. They had previously purchased Master of Malt's parent company Atom Group for an undisclosed sum in April 2018.

All of Atom’s businesses — Master of Malt, Atom Brands and Maverick Drinks— have now been sold back to founder Justin Petszaft, marking its return to a “fully independent and 100% founder-owned business”.

Petszaft said the reason for the buyback was that 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”.

"Atom Group remains much more like a startup than an established mature business with stable processes that can be easily scaled”, he added.

Petszaft built the Master of Malt website in 1999, quickly becoming a go-to for whisky purchasers globally.

He expressed joy at the buyback, thanking AB InBev for their support. 

Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive.