Cuervo ‘in talks with banks’ over IPO

Jose Cuervo International is reportedly in talks with banks over launching an initial public offering in Mexico.

The Tequila producer, which acquired the Bushmills Irish whiskey brand from Diageo in 2014, may sell shares later this year or early 2017, three unnamed sources told Bloomberg.

Jose Cuervo is based in Mexico City and is controlled by the billionaire Beckmann family. CEO Juan Domingo Beckmann has hinted previously that he may be considering a stock listing.

The share sales is estimated at US$750 million, two of the sources said.

According to data from the distiller, Jose Cuervo’s revenue soared 41% to $575 million for the first three quarters of 2015.

Last year, Don Francisco Hajnal Alfaro, Jose Cuervo’s master of Tequila, told SB that Tequila can “now compete” with Cognac.