Analysts are tipping Suntory as the favourite bidder for Scottish liqueur business Drambuie, which in the “early stages” of a potential sale.
The Japanese drinks giant, which snapped up bourbon brand Jim Beam in January, is the owner of Morrison Bowmore, the distillery that has manufactured Drambuie under licence since 2010.
A spokesman told The Grocer that the MacKinnon family, which has owned the liqueur company since its foundation in 1914, was exploring the potential for sale and although it was at a very early stage of the process, it was expecting a high level of interest. It is looking towards the lucrative Asian market for a sale, according to the Financial Times.
Shore Capital analyst Phil Carroll said that Suntory was the obvious candidate. “It is the most aggressive player in terms of M&A,” he said, “and assets of this nature are few and far between.”
The price tag is rumoured to be around £100m, which may limit the pool of interested parties, Carroll added, noting that Suntory may have its hands full with integrating Jim Beam. The privately owned Japanese company completed its acquisition of Beam Inc for an enterprise value of $16bn on 12 May.
Other potential names being mooted include Italian company Gruppo Campari, Diageo and Pernod Ricard, as well as private equity firms.
Accounts filed at Companies House showed Drambuie’s turnover fell from £22.9m to £22.2m in the year to 30 June 2013, with profits also down to £2.45m from £2.8m the previous year. Chairman Richard Stone reported the company had had a “positive but difficult” year as it sought to rebuild the brand – but was expecting “progress in the forthcoming year”.
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