William Grant & Sons’ bid to buy The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt has been green-lit by the Competition & Markets Authority.
It means the Monkey Shoulder brand owner can now proceed with its purchase of the two whiskies from Edrington subsidiary The 1887 Company.
“This is an important moment for William Grant & Sons,” said its CEO, Søren Hagh. “The acquisition of The Famous Grouse, when completed, will further demonstrate our significant commitment to building category momentum in scotch whisky in the UK and in our markets globally.”
Completion of the deal remained “subject to customary regulatory approval in certain other countries”, Hagh added.
The CMA had previously announced in January that it was considering whether the transaction would “result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.
William Grant & Sons, however, now looks set add to a scotch portfolio that already includes the Grant’s and Monkey Shoulder blends, as well as single malts Glenfiddich and The Balvenie.
Edrington, meanwhile, is poised to exit blended scotch entirely to focus on upmarket single malts like The Macallan, The Glenrothes and Highland Park, as well as other posh spirits including Brugal rum and Wyoming Whiskey.
Sales of The Famous Grouse fell 2.2% last year, on volumes down 8.5% [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024]. The brand remains the largest scotch whisky in the UK off-trade, however, with sales of £206.8m.
The only spirits brands with greater sales value in retail were Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Jack Daniel’s.
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