Pernod Ricard is open to offloading its champagne brand GH Mumm as part of its shift away from wine toward spirits, The Grocer understands.
The champagne house – wines from which are stocked in UK retailers including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose – is no longer a priority brand for the Paris-headquartered group. Therefore, it would consider a sale should an appropriate offer arise, according to a source close to the matter.
Pernod Ricard was not in a financial position that meant it needed to sell GH Mumm, the source said. Therefore, any sale would be conditional on the arrival of an offer that met its valuation of the brand, they added.
The sale would only include the GH Mumm brand, and Pernod Ricard’s other champagne brand Perrier-Jouët is not for sale, The Grocer understands.
Read more: Spirit giants Diageo and Pernod Ricard show ‘challenging’ is the new normal
Approached for comment, Pernod Ricard said only that it “regularly assesses and evaluates its strategic opportunities” and was “continuously exploring options, including divestments or the streamlining of some or part of individual business units”.
“This is a usual process in line with management’s mission of delivering value to shareholders, employees, clients and stakeholders,” a spokeswoman said.
“The Group nonetheless highlights that, at this stage, no decision has been made regarding any particular action or involving one of these options,” they added.
It comes after a report by Reuters earlier today (7 February) said Pernod Ricard was working with investment bank Rothschild & Co on the possible divestment of GH Mumm.
The champagne house was unlikely to be sold for less than threet times its annual sales of €200m (£167m), the report said.
Rothschild & Co declined to comment.
Pernod Ricard downgraded its short and medium-term sales guidance yesterday, citing disruption to sales caused by tariffs in China.
Sales were now expected to decline by a low-single-digit percentage in 2025 – compared to a previous forecast of growth of between 4%-7%, the Martell brand owner said.
Pernod Ricard’s revenues fell 4% organically to €6.2bn in the first half of the financial year, driven by declines in the US (–7%) and China (–25%).
In response to the challenging global macroeconomic climate, the group has outlined plans to cut costs by €1bn between 2026 and 2029.
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