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Breakthru and Empire embroiled in bid row

Breakthru Beverage Group has made an offer to acquire Empire Merchants for an undisclosed amount – a move the latter’s attorney has branded “an outrageous publicity stunt”.

Breakthru Beverage Group has made an offer to acquire Empire Merchants

In an internal memo issued to employees, Breakthru co-chairmen Rocky Wirtz and Charles Merinoff, vice chairman Danny Wirtz and CEO Greg Baird said the acquisition “makes sense”.

“As you know, Empire fits perfectly with our current supplier alignment, our expertise and our institutional knowledge of the New York market,” the memo read.

“Our investment in New York would provide tremendous value to suppliers as they consolidate among fewer partners and look for multi-state sales and marketing synergies. It makes sense for us, and our suppliers, as we believe it would for Empire as well.”

Empire Merchants is currently suing several Breakthru executives for involvement in an alleged smuggling scheme that saw wine and spirits worth “millions of dollars” smuggled into New York and sold illegally.

Terms of the offer – which is “unrelated to ongoing litigation” – were not disclosed.

Speaking to The Spirits Business, Randy Mastro, an attorney for Empire Merchants, slammed the “bogus” bid. 

“This is an outrageous publicity stunt by Breakthru. Empire Merchants isn’t for sale, and Breakthru is up to no good misbehaving in this ham-handed manner and suckering the press into reporting its bogus bid.

“Such diversionary tactics cannot obscure the serious RICO and fraud charges Breakthru’s Maryland affiliate is now facing in Empire Merchants’ pending New York civil lawsuit. Meanwhile, Empire Merchants intends to continue to be the best distributor of wine and spirits in New York and, indeed, the entire country.”

While Breakthru Beverage itself is not named in any court documents, the legal action alleges that Breakthru’s Maryland operation, Reliable Churchill LLLP, and Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) conspired with retailers in rural Maryland and New York to secretly ship alcohol products between the states.

Breakthru Beverages has no further comment at this time.

The offer comes just over a week after Lloyd Nobel – who was dismissed as CEO and president of Empire Merchants – joined Breakthru Beverage Group as an executive vice president.

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