A year of buying and selling has changed the face of the global drinks trade. We’ve rounded up the most headline-grabbing acquisitions here. Accolade acquires Pernod Ricard wine brands The industry was alive with chatter when AWL, parent company of Australian wine giant Accolade, revealed in July that it intended to buy Pernod Ricard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine businesses. Included in the sale are Pernod’s wine brands Jacob’s Creek, Orlando, St Hugo, Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate, Church Road, Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus and Azpilicueta, along with seven wineries. The move, AWL said, will provide “a more efficient global wine business with a diversified portfolio of highly complementary old and new world wine labels”. It claimed the merger would enable “a more certain and financially sustainable future for the business”, allowing AWL to better serve its customers “in more segments and more geographies.” Since then the acquisition has marched on apace. In October, the Australian competition authority approved the sale, paving the way for the combined global business. The deal is expected to go through in spring 2025. Campari acquires Courvoisier In April, Campari Group completed its acquisition of Beam Holdings France, which owns the Courvoisier brand. Campari first signed an agreement to buy the Cognac brand on 26 February in a deal thought to be worth US$1.17 billion (around £933 million). In order to fund the deal, Campari Group offloaded shares and debt, with outgoing chief executive Bob Kunze-Concewitz calling it a “once in a lifetime opportunity” when
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Fine Wine
