Japanese firm Suntory has acquired drinks company Beam, strengthening its position in the sprits category and in the Scotch whisky industry as a whole. The deal is subject to approval and is likely to go through in Q2 of 2014.
Suntory’s combined portfolio of leading brands will now include Beam’s Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, Teacher’s and Laphroaig Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Sauza tequila, and Pinnacle vodka, in addition to Suntory’s leading Japanese whiskies Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, and Kakubin, Bowmore Scotch whisky and Midori liqueur.
The deal, which sees Suntory Holdings Ltd acquired all outstanding shares in Beam Inc for a total of $16bn (£9.77bn). The transaction consideration represents a 25% premium to Beam’s closing price of $66.97 on January 10, 2014; a 24% premium to the volume-weighted average share price over the last three month and a multiple of more than 20 times Beam’s EBITDA for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2013.
Beam’s President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Shattock and the current Beam management team will continue to lead the business, which will be managed from Beam’s headquarters outsideChicago,Illinois.
Nobutada Saji, President and Chairman of Suntory’s Board, said: “I am delighted that we can announce this agreement with Beam, a company with a portfolio of leading global brands, including Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, and a strong global distribution network. I believe this combination will create a spirits business with a product portfolio unmatched throughout the world and allow us to achieve further global growth. We are particularly excited about the prospect of working more closely with Beam’s excellent management and employees who will play an integral part in the growth of the business.”
