CORRECT: Pernod To Buy Absolut Parent For $8.34B Plus Debt

Posted by admin
August 10, 2008

TEL AVIV — Pernod Ricard, the Paris wines and spirits producer, said it agreed to acquire Sweden’s Vin & Sprit, parent of the prominent Absolut vodka brand, for 5.28 000 000 000 euros (USD 8.34 000 000 000), plus assumption of 346 000 000 euros of debt. The deal excludes Vin & Sprit’s 10% interest in Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. Absolut is the top-selling premium vodka brand worldwide, with around 11 000 000 cases, Pernod Ricard said in an statement on Monday. Pernod Ricard said Absolut would fit well with its premium-brand portfolio, that includes Chivas Regal, Jameson, Martell, Beefeater, Kahlua, Mumm and more. And it expects to generate 125 000 000 to 150 000 000 euros of synergies a year from the deal. The move, it said, would be neutral to earnings in the year after closing and would add to profit thereafter. Vin & Sprit will pay the Swedish government a dividend of 85 000 000 euros before the deal closes, that Pernod Ricard expects this summer. The deal is subject to regulatory clearances. Pernod Ricard said it had lined up financing for the deal through a group of six banks: BNP Paribas, Calyon, J.P. Morgan, Natixis, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Societe Generale. Pernod Ricard was advised on the deal by J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank and PK Partners. (Corrects spelling of Vin & Sprit.)

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