Sweden Sells Beam Stake to Fortune Brands
Sweden has officially agreed to sell its 10% stake in Beam Global to parent company Fortune Brands for $466 million. Fortune now owns 100% of Beam.
Pernod struck a deal in March to acquire Vin & Sprit from the Swedish government, but did not purchase V&S’s 10% stake in Beam Global, Absolut’s U.S. distributor owned by Fortune.
Since then, Fortune had been looking to exercise a clause allowing it to buy the V&S stake, although the companies initially failed to agree on a price. Fortune had offered $350 million for the Beam stake but V&S wanted $1.1 billion, which would include “few $100s (of millions)” in debt.
“It (the Beam deal) is a good deal ... We are very pleased with it,” Swedish Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell spokeswoman Sarah Lundgren said, according to Reuters.
“The price established for the repurchase of the equity minority interest is good news for our shareholders,” said Fortune chief Bruce Carbonari. “Because this valuation was below the $543 million value we carry on our books, we have recorded a gain in our second quarter results.”
Vin & Sprit finalized its purchase by Pernod Ricard last week as well.
IS STOLI THE NEXT SUBJECT OF A BIDDING WAR?
Now that the Vin & Sprit acquisition is final, some analysts are saying that Stolichnaya (owned by SPI) will soon be the target of a new bidding war, according to an article in the Scotsman. Some are predicting that SPI could make as much as £1.5bn if Stolichnaya went up for auction.
Possible contenders are Bacardi, Campari, Beam Global and Brown-Forman, the report said, while Diageo was ruled out after buying 50%shares of Ketel One. Stoli currently controls about 5% of the vodka sector in the U.S., where vodka consumption is growing by over 6% a year.
The article also went on to speculate that Pernod Ricard may consider selling several non-core Scotch whisky brands to reduce debt following the completion of the V&S acquisition. The brands include Prince Charlie, Passport, Royal Salut and White Heather because of “unprecedented interest in the mid-tier of the whisky industry.”
“Scotland on Sunday” revealed earlier this month that Pernod is understood to be in final negotiations to sell its Glendronach malt whisky distillery. Chivas Brothers has allegedly received a first round of bids for the malt and is close to sealing a £30m deal for the Huntly distillery.
EUROPEANS LOOKING TO SNATCH U.S. WINERIES
It is likely we will see more interest in U.S. wineries by foreign investors as long as the U.S. dollar stays weak and other currencies remain strong.
The big news last week was when Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel announced it was in negotiations to purchase Chateau Montelena.
"It's time to go winery shopping if you're a European," said analyst Jon Fredrikson, owner Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates. "There are lots of bargains out there."
An article in the Press Democrat says the “number of foreign individuals, major wine companies and investment groups feeling out the California market” has increased dramatically as the euro surges.
Furthermore, U.S. vineyard and winery values have held up well unlike the residential real estate market, making properties in Napa and Sonoma increasingly attractive.
But “for every completed deal there are innumerable cases of inaction, with potential investors holding back out of fear, confusion about the U.S. market, or just not being able to get their act together quickly enough, brokers say,” the article continued.
YOUNG’S MARKET MAKES NEW APPOINTMENTS
Young's Market Company and Young's-Columbia jointly announced they have promoted several key executives, including John Klein, Dennis Barnett, Dan Ewer, Andy Lytle and Brian Young.
John Klein, formerly the president of Young's Pacific Northwest division has been promoted to president of Young's Market Company. Dennis Barnett, formerly the president of Young's Market Company-California has been promoted to the newly created position of president of Young's Market Company-Southwest.
Dan Ewer, formerly the executive vp of sales/marketing for Young's-Columbia of Oregon has been named to replace John Klein as president of Young's-Columbia Pacific Northwest division.
Andy Lytle, formerly the vp of sales and marketing for Mt. Hood Beverage Company has been named to replace Dan as vp of sales/marketing of Young's-Columbia of Oregon.
Brian Young, formerly the president of Young's Market Company Brokerage-Washington State has been promoted to the newly created position of president Young's Market Company Pacific Northwest Brokerage where he will oversee the company's brokerage activities in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
FREDERICK WILDMAN AND SONS MAKE CHANGES
Frederick Wildman and Sons says it will increase staffing by 50% in the next year throughout the United States and its headquarters
The company’s portfolio consists of over 50 brands from around the world including wines from Italy, Australia, France, Argentina, Chile and Spain. The portfolio will now be divided into two divisions, National Brands and Fine Wine. National brands have higher volume and a broad market appeal, while Fine Wine focuses more on boutique wineries in the above mentioned countries as well as Portugal, South Africa, Austria and Germany.
The National Brands division is now operating with sales directors based in the east, midwest, south and west/southwest. The Fine Wine Division, meanwhile, includes two divisional managers – an eastern and a western manager.
WSD BRIEFS:
B-F APPROVES CEO’S SALARY. Brown-Forman said its board's compensation committee approved a base salary of $1.01 million for chairman and ceo Paul Varga for the current fiscal year. It becomes effective August 1 and includes a holiday bonus. The committee also approved a short-term incentive compensation target of $1.25 million based on “depletion-based operating income.”
BEER'S LEAD OVER WINE AND SPIRITS grew this year to double digits, according to the latest Gallup poll. The trend back to beer reflects a shift among drinkers aged 30 to 49 years old, the survey indicates. From 2004 to 2005 concludes wine and beer were almost equally preferred. But, wine as a favorite peaked at 39% in 2005 and has since slipped to 31%, while beer is now chosen first 47% of the time, the poll said.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION began the release of $8.5 million in grants last week to European Union wine producers. The money will pay for “public relations, promotional or publicity. highlighting EU products'.quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness.”
THE HEAD OF WINE AUCTIONS AT CHRISTIE’S, vp Richard Brierley, is leaving the auction house’s North American division after eight years to return to the UK. Charles Curtis MW will take the place of Brierley in New York and serve as head of wine sales in the US. Curtis was previously director of wine and spirits education at Moët Hennessy USA.
LOW COUNTRY IMPORTS WILL MERGE with Grape Expectations Wine Imports, both corporately based in Raleigh, NC, to form Low Country Imports as of August 1. Low Country Imports’ best known brands are are Dyed in the Wool, Zintry, Soiree, Vindelocks, Vin Dillon and Premonitions. Brands of Grape Expectations include Charles Wiffen, Mt. Difficulty, Zilzie, Gemtree and Castillo Perelada.
TOTAL WINE & MORE OPENED ITS FIRST PHOENIX STORE last week, making it the retailer chain’s 54th store in 10 states. The store was named Beverage Dynamic's 2008 Retailer of the Year and is known for its wide selection and low prices.
Until tomorrow, Megan
“To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
--------- Sell Day Calendar ----------
Today’s Sell Day: 19
Sell days this month: 23
Sell days this month last year: 22
This month ends on a: Thur
This month last year ended on a: Tues.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +0
WINE & SPIRITS DAILY
Subscribe or check back issues at: www.winespiritsdaily.com
Send news and comments in confidence to: megan@winespiritsdaily.com
© 2008 Wine & Spirits Daily, all rights reserved. May quote with attribution.
Pernod struck a deal in March to acquire Vin & Sprit from the Swedish government, but did not purchase V&S’s 10% stake in Beam Global, Absolut’s U.S. distributor owned by Fortune.
Since then, Fortune had been looking to exercise a clause allowing it to buy the V&S stake, although the companies initially failed to agree on a price. Fortune had offered $350 million for the Beam stake but V&S wanted $1.1 billion, which would include “few $100s (of millions)” in debt.
“It (the Beam deal) is a good deal ... We are very pleased with it,” Swedish Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell spokeswoman Sarah Lundgren said, according to Reuters.
“The price established for the repurchase of the equity minority interest is good news for our shareholders,” said Fortune chief Bruce Carbonari. “Because this valuation was below the $543 million value we carry on our books, we have recorded a gain in our second quarter results.”
Vin & Sprit finalized its purchase by Pernod Ricard last week as well.
IS STOLI THE NEXT SUBJECT OF A BIDDING WAR?
Now that the Vin & Sprit acquisition is final, some analysts are saying that Stolichnaya (owned by SPI) will soon be the target of a new bidding war, according to an article in the Scotsman. Some are predicting that SPI could make as much as £1.5bn if Stolichnaya went up for auction.
Possible contenders are Bacardi, Campari, Beam Global and Brown-Forman, the report said, while Diageo was ruled out after buying 50%shares of Ketel One. Stoli currently controls about 5% of the vodka sector in the U.S., where vodka consumption is growing by over 6% a year.
The article also went on to speculate that Pernod Ricard may consider selling several non-core Scotch whisky brands to reduce debt following the completion of the V&S acquisition. The brands include Prince Charlie, Passport, Royal Salut and White Heather because of “unprecedented interest in the mid-tier of the whisky industry.”
“Scotland on Sunday” revealed earlier this month that Pernod is understood to be in final negotiations to sell its Glendronach malt whisky distillery. Chivas Brothers has allegedly received a first round of bids for the malt and is close to sealing a £30m deal for the Huntly distillery.
EUROPEANS LOOKING TO SNATCH U.S. WINERIES
It is likely we will see more interest in U.S. wineries by foreign investors as long as the U.S. dollar stays weak and other currencies remain strong.
The big news last week was when Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel announced it was in negotiations to purchase Chateau Montelena.
"It's time to go winery shopping if you're a European," said analyst Jon Fredrikson, owner Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates. "There are lots of bargains out there."
An article in the Press Democrat says the “number of foreign individuals, major wine companies and investment groups feeling out the California market” has increased dramatically as the euro surges.
Furthermore, U.S. vineyard and winery values have held up well unlike the residential real estate market, making properties in Napa and Sonoma increasingly attractive.
But “for every completed deal there are innumerable cases of inaction, with potential investors holding back out of fear, confusion about the U.S. market, or just not being able to get their act together quickly enough, brokers say,” the article continued.
YOUNG’S MARKET MAKES NEW APPOINTMENTS
Young's Market Company and Young's-Columbia jointly announced they have promoted several key executives, including John Klein, Dennis Barnett, Dan Ewer, Andy Lytle and Brian Young.
John Klein, formerly the president of Young's Pacific Northwest division has been promoted to president of Young's Market Company. Dennis Barnett, formerly the president of Young's Market Company-California has been promoted to the newly created position of president of Young's Market Company-Southwest.
Dan Ewer, formerly the executive vp of sales/marketing for Young's-Columbia of Oregon has been named to replace John Klein as president of Young's-Columbia Pacific Northwest division.
Andy Lytle, formerly the vp of sales and marketing for Mt. Hood Beverage Company has been named to replace Dan as vp of sales/marketing of Young's-Columbia of Oregon.
Brian Young, formerly the president of Young's Market Company Brokerage-Washington State has been promoted to the newly created position of president Young's Market Company Pacific Northwest Brokerage where he will oversee the company's brokerage activities in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
FREDERICK WILDMAN AND SONS MAKE CHANGES
Frederick Wildman and Sons says it will increase staffing by 50% in the next year throughout the United States and its headquarters
The company’s portfolio consists of over 50 brands from around the world including wines from Italy, Australia, France, Argentina, Chile and Spain. The portfolio will now be divided into two divisions, National Brands and Fine Wine. National brands have higher volume and a broad market appeal, while Fine Wine focuses more on boutique wineries in the above mentioned countries as well as Portugal, South Africa, Austria and Germany.
The National Brands division is now operating with sales directors based in the east, midwest, south and west/southwest. The Fine Wine Division, meanwhile, includes two divisional managers – an eastern and a western manager.
WSD BRIEFS:
B-F APPROVES CEO’S SALARY. Brown-Forman said its board's compensation committee approved a base salary of $1.01 million for chairman and ceo Paul Varga for the current fiscal year. It becomes effective August 1 and includes a holiday bonus. The committee also approved a short-term incentive compensation target of $1.25 million based on “depletion-based operating income.”
BEER'S LEAD OVER WINE AND SPIRITS grew this year to double digits, according to the latest Gallup poll. The trend back to beer reflects a shift among drinkers aged 30 to 49 years old, the survey indicates. From 2004 to 2005 concludes wine and beer were almost equally preferred. But, wine as a favorite peaked at 39% in 2005 and has since slipped to 31%, while beer is now chosen first 47% of the time, the poll said.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION began the release of $8.5 million in grants last week to European Union wine producers. The money will pay for “public relations, promotional or publicity. highlighting EU products'.quality, hygiene, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare or environment-friendliness.”
THE HEAD OF WINE AUCTIONS AT CHRISTIE’S, vp Richard Brierley, is leaving the auction house’s North American division after eight years to return to the UK. Charles Curtis MW will take the place of Brierley in New York and serve as head of wine sales in the US. Curtis was previously director of wine and spirits education at Moët Hennessy USA.
LOW COUNTRY IMPORTS WILL MERGE with Grape Expectations Wine Imports, both corporately based in Raleigh, NC, to form Low Country Imports as of August 1. Low Country Imports’ best known brands are are Dyed in the Wool, Zintry, Soiree, Vindelocks, Vin Dillon and Premonitions. Brands of Grape Expectations include Charles Wiffen, Mt. Difficulty, Zilzie, Gemtree and Castillo Perelada.
TOTAL WINE & MORE OPENED ITS FIRST PHOENIX STORE last week, making it the retailer chain’s 54th store in 10 states. The store was named Beverage Dynamic's 2008 Retailer of the Year and is known for its wide selection and low prices.
Until tomorrow, Megan
“To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
--------- Sell Day Calendar ----------
Today’s Sell Day: 19
Sell days this month: 23
Sell days this month last year: 22
This month ends on a: Thur
This month last year ended on a: Tues.
YTD sell days Over/Under: +0
WINE & SPIRITS DAILY
Subscribe or check back issues at: www.winespiritsdaily.com
Send news and comments in confidence to: megan@winespiritsdaily.com
© 2008 Wine & Spirits Daily, all rights reserved. May quote with attribution.
posted at 2:17 PM
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