In a landmark deal, Campari Group has completed the acquisition of Courvoisier Cognac from Beam Suntory. As a result, Cognac will become Campari Group’s fourth major leg, alongside aperitifs, bourbon and tequila.
Courvoisier will join a raft of big name brands including Campari, Aperol, Wild Turkey, Grand Marnier, Appleton Estate, Skyy vodka, Wray & Nephew and Espolón.
The deal is in accordance with the terms of the acquisition agreement disclosed on 14 December.
This is the largest deal in Campari Group’s history. The acquisition offers a big boost to its US presence (where Courvoisier VS is particularly strong), and adds long-term “transformational potential” in strategic Asia and travel retail via expansion of its luxury footprint, the company noted in December.
Courvoisier has long been a key brand in global travel retail and Campari Group, having already stepped up its presence in the channel considerably over the past two years, will likely waste no time in investing heavily and imaginatively behind its new acquisition.
The purchase price was US$1.17 billion. The book value of maturing inventory estimated at 30 April and included in the price paid was US$410 million.
In addition, an earn-out for a maximum amount of US$120 million will be payable in 2029 based on the achievement of net sales targets realised in full year 2028. Should the earn-out be paid, the total enterprise value will be US$1.32 billion, as per the agreement revealed in December.
The Moodie View: I have been around long enough to recall Courvoisier as a mega brand with Japanese travellers, the demographic that drove DFS Group’s extraordinary fortunes from the mid 1960s to the late 80s and early 90s when the Japanese local market opened up.
Oh how the Japanese loved Courvoisier. But here’s the thing. They struggled to pronounce Courvoisier, simply calling it Napoleon, a reference to the ‘Brandy of Napoleon’ or ‘Cognac of Napoleon’ wording on the bottle and a silhouette of the French emperor on the label.
The Courvoisier label had big ‘Courvoisier’ lettering with a small ‘Napoleon’. So what did the brilliant DFS ownership duo of Bob Miller and Chuck Feeney do? Simple, they labelled their (effectively) in-house brand (at the time, not today) Camus with a small ‘Camus’ and a big ‘Napoleon’.
As a result, Camus sales went off the Richter scale. But, hey, Courvoisier did pretty well too. Let’s see what Campari does. Courvoisier Spritz anyone? ✈
