Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/599364
14 Beverage Dynamics • November/December 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com FYI NEWS, NOTES & TRENDS INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION CONTINUES AND INTENSIFIES DIAGEO SELLS RED STRIPE TO HEINEKEN The Jamaican beer brand Red Stripe has changed hands. As part of a $780.5-million deal, Heineken has agreed to buy controlling ownership of Jamaican alcohol-producer Desnoes & Geddes from Diageo. Among D&G's assets is the beer brand Red Stripe. Diageo had previously owned a 57.9% stake in D&G, while Heineken had just 15.5%. After buying up the en- tirety of Diageo's stake, Heineken now has a 73.3% stake. D&G also owns the Dragon beer brand. The license to use Red Stripe and Dragon in connection with the manufacture, production, selling, distribution and/or marketing in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, was previously held by Diageo. Affi liates of Heineken will become the new license holder for Red Stripe and Dragon in these countries, beginning January 1, 2016. AB INBEV AND SABMILLER AGREE TO MERGER The world's two largest brewers may soon merge into one. After weeks of courting SABMiller, only to be rebuffed again and again for buy-out proposals deemed too low, AB Inbev entered into agreement to acquire its chief competitor. According to reports, AB Inbev is offering approximately $67 per share for SABMiller (up from a previous bid of around $66 per share). This would make the deal worth about $104.2 billion. The merger now requires a great deal of regulatory approval. Should the deal fall through, AB Inbev has agreed to pay $3 billion to SABMiller. The news came just before a deadline that would have forced AB Inbev to wait another six months before extending another offer. The accepted proposal was AB Inbev's fi fth at- tempt to buy SABMiller. BD IT'S DIFFICULT TO KEEP UP with all the mergers and acquisitions in the beverage alcohol industry in the past few months. Companies large and small are affected, with no end in sight. Following an era of expansion when craft distilleries and breweries reached numbers not seen in decades, consoli- dation may be here to stay. HEAVEN HILL ACQUIRES DEEP EDDY VODKA The nation's largest fami- ly-owned and operated dis- tilled spirits supplier, Heaven Hill recently entered into an agreement to acquire the fast-growing vodka brand, and its distillery, from Eliza Spring, LLC. The purchase price was not disclosed. Since its introduction in 2010 with the original Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka and Deep Eddy Straight Vodka in 2011, the business has grown to over 500,000 cases today. "This is a milestone day for Heaven Hill Brands as we add Deep Eddy Vodka and their entire team to our dynamic and innovative family," said Max L. Shapira, President of Heaven Hill Brands. "Deep Eddy Vodka is a star on the rise in the spir- its industry and is redefi ning the premium Vodka market with a quality product and iconic marketing programs." Eric Dopkins will continue as President of Deep Eddy Vodka. DIAGEO SELLS WINE INTERESTS TO TREASURY Treasury Estate Wines bought Chateau and Estate Wines, along with Percy Fox, for $552 million. This follows Diageo's stated goal of moving away from non-core businesses. Following the transaction, Diageo's wine portfolio will include a number of smaller interests. Ivan Menezes, Chief Exec- utive of Diageo, said, "Diageo's strategy is to drive stronger, sustained performance through focus on our core portfolio and today's announcement is an- other element of that strategy in action. Wine is no longer core to Diageo and this sale gives us greater focus."