Pernod Ricard has announced that Corby Spirit and Wine (Corby) is to acquire a 90% stake in Ace Beverage Group (ABG), one of the largest independent players in the Canadian ready-to-drink (RTD) market, at an Enterprise Value of CAD$165 million (€113.9 million).
The spirits firm said Corby will have a path to full ownership of ABG through a series of two call options on the remaining shares, exercisable in 2025 and 2028.
Acquisition
ABG was established in 2020, through the merger of Cottage Springs, founded 2013, and Ace Hill, founded in 2015.
Its flagship brand Cottage Springs is the leading RTD brand in Ontario, with bestselling products that include Cottage Springs Vodka Soda, Vodka Water and Tequila Soda.
ABG also owns a portfolio of other brands, such as Ace Hill, Cabana Coast and Liberty Village.
Canada is one of the top global RTD markets and RTDs are one of the fastest growing beverage alcohol categories, experiencing over 20% year on year growth between 2016 and 2021, and expected to pursue double-digit rate increases in coming years .
ABG plans on benefiting from Corby’s 'extensive' distribution network to support its brands in further growing their presence across Canada.
A 'Key Player'
“With ABG, Corby becomes a key player in the Canadian RTD market, giving the scale and synergies needed in this category," said Fredrik Syrén, global managing director of RTD and convenience at Pernod Ricard.
"It is well aligned with our ambition of building a global RTD business and capture our fair share.”
“Corby’s sustained growth, as well as Pernod Ricard's, relies on our ability to bring even more exciting choices to our consumers, by continually expanding into new and promising categories," said Nicolas Krantz, president and CEO of Corby.
"RTDs are one such category and we are excited to partner with such visionary entrepreneurs to further develop our rich portfolio of RTDs now made up of ABG, Corby and Pernod Ricard brands.”
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest drinks news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
