EMPERADOR Inc., the liquor unit of businessman Andrew L. Tan, said it is buying the Domecq brandy and wine business of Mexico’s Pernod Ricard.
Emperador said its Spanish joint-venture unit Bodegas Las Copas will be used for the acquisition of Pernod Ricard, which makes brands including Absolut Vodka and Chivas Regal. Both brands, however, are not part of the deal. Tan’s liquor unit is only buying the brandy and wines of Pernod Ricard, as the Mexican company said it wants to simplify its portfolio for growth and focus on its priority spirits and wine brands. It reinforces the presence of Bodega Las Copas in the global brandy category, Emperador said.
The transaction includes the brand portfolio of Mexican brandies Don Pedro, Presidente and Azteca de Oro, as well as the winery related to the production of Mexican wines in Ensenada, together with the relevant inventories related to the Domecq brands in several markets, including Spain, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands, among others.
This gives Emperador access to the brandy market in Latin America, particularly Mexico, where the Domecq brandies take half of the entire brandy market, the company said. Latin American countries have a combined population of over 600 million.
“This recent acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to fortify Emperador’s status as the No. 1 brandy company in the world,” Emperador President Winston Co said in a statement.
The deal was announced last Friday. The company did not disclose the amount of the deal. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including its clearance by the Mexican Anti-Trust authorities.
Pernod Ricard was advised in this transaction by BBVA bank and Cuatrecasas Spanish law firm. Bodega Las Copas, a 50-50 joint venture between Tan and Gonzalez Byass, was advised by Uría Menéndez, a Spanish law firm, and Galicia Abogados, a Mexican law firm.
Early this year Emperador acquired Fundador brandy maker Beam Spain SL. The company also operates a global Scotch whisky business of Whyte & Mackay, which Tan bought in 2014.