Pernod Ricard agreed to sell its Domecq brandy and sherry business to an entity part-owned by Asia’s Emperador Inc. to sharpen its focus on larger brands such as Absolut vodka and Chivas Regal scotch.
Pernod will sell the unit to Bodega Las Copas, a joint venture owned by Emperador of the Philippines and Spanish winery Gonzalez Byass, for an undisclosed price, the Paris-based company said in a statement late Thursday. Domecq’s portfolio includes Mexican brandies such as Don Pedro, Presidente and Azteca de Oro. Bloomberg had earlier reported Pernod was close to announcing the sale.
More than 500,000 nine-liter cases of Domecq brandy and sherry were sold last year, according to industry tracker IWSR. Paris-based Pernod has recently divested brands such as Paddy whiskey and Fris vodka that aren’t central to its business, paving the way to add faster-growing liquors including Monkey 47 and Ungava gins. Last month, the company reported revenue growth that beat estimates as demand for its Jameson Irish whiskey surged.
Emperador, a unit of Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., is the world’s largest maker of brandy. The acquisition comes about a year after it bought Beam Suntory’s brandy and sherry business in a deal valued at about €275 million,
News by Bloomberg, edited by hospitality Ireland
