Sazerac offered $15B to buy Kentucky whiskey rival Brown-Forman, reports say
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sazerac offered $32 per share, valuing Brown‑Forman at about $15 billion.
- Brown‑Forman shares rose above $29 per share in late‑day trading after news.
- Pernod Ricard has confirmed talks over a potential deal with Brown-Forman.
Brown-Forman shareholders must be feeling like someone’s poured them out a double shot of Jack.
Sazerac, the latest suitor for a marriage of whiskey giants, has offered $32 a share, or about $15 billion in total for the Kentucky company, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The share price rose with the news, bumping up above $29 a share in late-day trading.
The maker of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbons, along with many other spirits, has recently been wooed by Pernod Ricard. No details of that potential deal have emerged. Both companies confirmed that talks were ongoing.
Can the French spirits company match Sazerac? Stock market analysts previously expressed some skepticism that Pernod Ricard would be able to offer a significant premium because it is already highly leveraged.
One analyst, Robert Moskow of TD Cowen, said that Brown-Forman shares could hit $33-$34, especially if other spirits companies such as Diageo, Campari or Bacardi also put in bids.
“Given the scarce-asset nature of the Brown-Forman business and its biggest brand, Jack Daniel’s, we think a buyer would have to pay a 30%-35% equity premium to get a deal done with complete change of control,” Moskow wrote.
Sazerac, which owns Buffalo Trace, Blanton’s, Weller and makes the vaunted Pappy Van Winkle bourbon brand, has been on a growth binge. The company, which has headquarters in Louisville and New Orleans, has announced more than $1 billion in expansions in Kentucky and Indiana.
A Sazerac subsidiary recently bought the debt on Garrard County Distilling and is pushing for a foreclosure sale with plans to bid.
