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Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell its portfolio of international wine brands to the owner of Accolade Wines for an undisclosed price.
The French spirits giant said the disposal to Australian Wine Holdco Ld (AWL) would allow the group to further strengthen its premiumisation strategy and direct resources to its premium spirits and champagne brands.
Pernod added the transaction was the result of a “continuous assessment of its strategic opportunities”, in line with its longstanding policy to deliver sustainable value for its shareholders, employees, clients and partners.
The sale includes established international wine brands Jacob’s Creek, Orlando and St Hugo from Australia, Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate and Church Road from New Zealand and Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus and Azpilicueta from Spain.
Pernod Ricard Winemakers also owns seven wineries.
“With this transaction, Pernod Ricard will sell its wine division to a player of global scale, with a route to market solely dedicated to the wine industry,” a statement from the group this morning said.
“Its wine brands will benefit from the focus required to achieve their potential, reinforce their position, and seize new opportunities around the world.”
Closing of the transaction remains subject to fulfilment of customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances, and is expected to occur during the second half of 2025.
AWL is a consortium of international institutional investors, which comprises funds backed by Bain Capital, Intermediate Capital Group, Capital Four, Sona Asset Management, and Samuel Terry Asset Management.
Shares in Pernod rose 0.9% to €124 this morning.
Morning update
Food and drink inflation has continued to come down in June, while the UK headline rate of inflation held steady at 2%.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 1.5% in the year to June 2024, down from 1.7% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics. It’s the lowest figure since October 2021 when it stood at 1.3%.
The main drive of the slowdown came from meat, bread and fruit.
Overall, inflation in the UK remained unchanged at 2% in the year to June as rising hotel and restaurant prices were offset by falls in clothing and shoes in summer sales.
FDF CEO Karen Betts said she was “pleased” to see food and drink price inflation continuing to fall.
“This is key to easing the cost-of-living crisis for households across the country and crucial for business recovery,” she added.
“Stabilising input costs will help to restore business confidence and stimulate the critical investment we need to see in food and drink, the largest manufacturing industry in the UK. Our industry is at the heart of the everyday economy and the prosperity of our communities, and central to job opportunities and skills development. Investment is key to safeguarding food security and the resilience of our food and drink sector.”
Meatly has today received regulatory clearance to sell cultivated meat for pet food in the UK, making it the first in the world to get authorisation for lab grown food for dogs and cats. The move also makes Meatly the first-ever cultivated meat company approved for sale in any European country.
The public announcement follows a close collaborative process between Meatly and the UK’s regulatory bodies, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
Established in 2022 and backed by Agronomics and Pets at Home, Meatly produces cultivated chicken for the pet food industry and has raised £3.6m of investment to date.
The FTSE 100 sliped 0.1% to 8,154.20pts this morning.
Early fallers included C&C Group, down 1.2% to 159.2p, and PZ Cussons, down 1.2% to 102p.
Deliveroo is up 0.9% to 130.3p and Just Eat Takeaway is up 1.2% to 965.1p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 8,164.90pts yesterday.
The Ocado rollercoaster continued yesterday as shares made double-digit gains in the early going after the online grocer cut first-half losses and made upbeat noises about the rest of the year. The stock ended the day up by 7.4% to 365.6p. It followed a 10% drop on Monday after Bernstein downgraded the business. Shares in Ocado are down 51% in the year to date.
B&M jumped 4.3% to 466p despite a slowdown in Q1 like-for-like sales, with the discounter talking of strong margin performance.
McBride took a 10.1% hit to 127p following a full-year trading update. The household own label supplier said it expected a strong financial performance and profits in line with guidance.
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