Rémy shares soar over Brown-Forman acquisition rumours

Rumours circulating around a possible takeover of Rémy Cointreau by Brown-Forman have driven shares of the Cognac producer up by 11%.

Rémy Cointreau, producer of Louis XIII Cognac, may be on the acquisition table

The Betaville financial blog claims Brown-Forman, owner of the Jack Daniel’s brand, has its sights set on purchasing French drinks group Rémy Cointreau “because it doesn’t want to get left behind in the global consolidation game” that kicked off this year with Suntory’s US$16bn acquisition of Beam.

It claims Brown-Forman has held tentative discussions with investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, although an actual play for Rémy is likely to be some way off.

Both Brown-Forman and Rémy Cointreau would neither confirm nor deny the rumours. Phil Lynch, director of corporate communications, said: “By corporate policy, we don’t comment on or respond to rumors or reports about acquisitions, divestitures or other financial matters.”

Takeover bid or not, Rémy Cointreau’s share price soared by 11% on the Euronext Paris Exchange today, to more than €65 ($89).

Rémy Cointreau issued a profit warning in January after its dwindling performance in China continued to cause concern. As such, speculation surfaced over its viability as a takeover target.

According to Betaville, Lazard is representing Rémy Cointreau and its controlling shareholders, the Dubreuil family, which owns around 60% of the business. Françcois Hériard Dubreuil replaced Frédéric Pflanz as interim chief executive of Rémy Cointreau in January.