Sazerac reportedly offered around $15 billion to buy Brown-Forman. The offer comes after news of discussions for a potential deal between French spirits producer Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman, followed by rumors that Sazerac also approached the Louisville, Ky.-based whiskey giant.
Brown-Forman’s shares are trading at $29.57 at the time of publication. Sazerac offered to buy Brown-Forman for $32 a share, the Wall Street Journal reports. Brown-Forman’s stock has climbed 25 percent since the initial reports of its discussions with Pernod. Its shares were down just over 2 percent this morning before word of the Sazerac offer was published.
Brown-Forman’s current market value sits at roughly $13.5 billion, a valuation 10 percent lower than Sazerac’s bid. In its portfolio are spirits brands like Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and Herradura tequila. Sazerac is a private, family-owned company with over 550 brands under its purview, including spirits like Buffalo Trace and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky and ready-to-drink cocktails like BuzzBallz and Dirty Shirley.
Industry advisors told Reteurs that a buyout by Sazerac would likely force the Brown family to hand over total control of the company. Pernod approached Brown-Forman with a mostly stock deal, WSJ reports. As such, the Brown family would keep a slice of the company’s ownership and voting rights, but it remains unclear how large that slice would be.
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