Miles Teller is getting a big payout for the sale of his canned cocktail brand
NEED TO KNOW
-
Long Drink, the actor's canned cocktail company, is reportedly being sold for $325 million
-
"All I’ll say is that I’m not retiring from acting anytime soon," he joked after the sale went public
Miles Telleris getting a big payout for the sale of his canned cocktail brand — but it won't mean the end of his acting career.
On Monday, April 20,The Hollywood Reporterspoke to theTop Gun: Maverickstar, 39, about the sale ofLong Drink.a brand that makes Finnish-style bubbly alcoholic beverages made with gin and juniper berry flavors, for which he was a minority investor.
THRreported that The Finnish Long Drink sold to the Mark Anthony Group of Companies, which also makes other canned cocktails including White Claw, for a reported $325 million.
"I’ve been feeling very proud," Teller told the outlet of the sale "I’m very excited for our founders. How cool for them to come from a country where they don’t export a lot of things on the global stage. But this drink — their national beverage — for them to bring this product here that they believed in and to scale it and grow it organically, it’s the true American dream."
Teller landed his minority stake in the drink brand in 2019, andForbesreported in 2024 that he had "carved out a larger ownership stake" in The Long Drink Company, for which Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners also serves as an investor.
“I don’t really talk numbers,” he teased of the acquisition, declining to share what his exact payout would be after the sale. “I was always taught that’s not in good taste. All I’ll say is that I’m not retiring from acting anytime soon.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
TheWhiplashalum also spoke about the opportunities that this new paycheck might bring him — including the chance to produce some of his own film projects.
Advertisement
"Yeah, I think if anything, I’ve gravitated toward underdog stories. I really like chip-on-the-shoulder characters, odds stacked against you — a person or a community," he shared. "This gives me a lot of confidence to trust my instincts. I’ve been producing for the last several years. Certain actors can get movies made on different budgets. If you can say, 'Hey I’m attached to this thing, let me find a director and what actors do we like for this, do I have relationships with them?' So, it certainly helps.”
The star's wifeKeleigh Telleralso shared her excitement in a post shared toInstagramon Monday, writing that she and Teller would "still be involved" with the drink brand.
"Excited to announce our very first company we created has been acquired by Mark Anthony. BUT!!! We're just getting started!" she teased. "We will still be involved and can't wait to keep growing long drink everywhere. This company brought us together with so many of our dearest friends on this journey. We are so grateful to everyone who has been along for the ride and can't wait for what's next for long drink 🥂 🤍."
Teller is hardly the firstactor to make a foray into the cocktail market.
Stars ranging fromBlake Livelyand Kylie Jenner toNeil Patrick Harrishave launched their own alcohol brands and collaborated with existing companies over the last several years, and Teller toldTHRthat several celebrity entrepreneurs have reached out to congratulate him on the sale of Long Drink.
"That first wave of guys with Ryan [Reynolds] and [George] Clooney and Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman — it kind of started it all off, where you had a lot of these celebrity copycats come in and say, 'Oh man, look at this cash grab,'" he shared. "But anyone in the industry will tell you that’s just not how it goes."
"If you do the research on the celebrity brands, a lot of times it doesn’t work out. It’s tough to build a business, in general. I can tell you, I’ve had a lot of texts from various friends and people who have built companies and had companies fail and they said, 'Miles, this is a huge, huge win. It doesn’t happen very often, it’s extremely rare,'" Teller added. "I’m sure it’s less than one percent of people who start companies who end up selling it for any kind of profit. It feels good because it was a new arena for me and I’m really proud of it."
Read the original article onPeople
