Sazerac acquires South Trade International

Sazerac has continued its acquisition streak with the purchase of Australian premium spirit specialist South Trade International from Pinnacle Drinks.

The Sazerac Company has acquired Australian premium spirit specialists South Trade International

Pinnacle Drinks bought a controlling stake in importer, marketer and distributor South Trade in 2013, and has now sold this to Sazerac.

South Trade’s portfolio features brands such as Teeling Whiskey, Pusser’s Rum and Meukow VS Cognac, and will welcome recent Sazerac acquisitions Southern Comfort and Tuaca to the line-up.

Guy May, global sales director of Sazerac, described the move as: “A perfect synergy of our team cultures and values and the realisation of an opportunity to capitalise on a portfolio of strong brands invested to succeed across all channels of the Australian drinks market.

“South Trade not only represents our brands in Australia – it also represents many other exciting brands. South Trade will continue to operate with its current identity and branding and will be led by its present management team.”

Tony Stubley, co-founder of South Trade, added: “This change in ownership will allow us to open up new routes to market and service an even wider range of customers who are seeking our authentic and experiential brands as part of their drinks repertoire.

“Meanwhile, our relationship with Pinnacle could not be better and we will continue to represent their brands in the on-premise.”

The change of owner also coincides with an executive change, which saw Ray Noble, former marketing director at Bacardi-Martini, appointed as managing director; Richard Scott named as national sales manager; and Matt Rimmer promoted to marketing director.

Stubley and co-founder Dave Higgins will remain active board directors and mentors for the team.