Campari Group has acquired a minority shareholding in Capevin Holdings Proprietary, the holding company behind Bunnahabhain distiller CVH Spirits.
The Italy-based spirits giant bought the 14.6% stake in Capevin for £69.9m ($92.3m).
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CVH Spirits houses Scotch whisky brands including Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Scottish Leader and Black Bottle.
As part of the deal, Campari, the owner of The Glen Grant Scotch whisky, is appointing a board member to CVH to “protect” its minority position.
Campari said it is making the £69.9m transaction via available cash.
CVH was formerly part of Distell Group, the South African drinks business Heineken acquired in 2023. The company was unbundled from Distell after the deal with Heineken. South African investor Remgro is a majority shareholder in CVH.
In July, Campari Group took on the distribution of CVH’s whiskies in France and Monaco.
That deal saw Campari’s French arm become the exclusive distributor for Islay single malt Scotch whisky Bunnahabhain, single malts Deanston, Tobermory and Ledaig, and the “premium” blended Scotch whisky Black Bottle.
Campari also holds the distribution rights for CVH’s brands in South Korea.
Last year, a change in Campari’s voting structure increased the voting rights of its lead shareholder Lagfin (owned by the Garavoglia family) from 68.6% to 84%.
Writing for Just Drinks, Richard Woodard noted that the move “opens up the possibility that the company could issue a large amount of equity without sacrificing family control – giving it a potential ‘war chest’ of up to €30bn ($32.5bn) to fund acquisitions.”
In 2023, Campari generated group net sales of €2.9bn ($3.6bn), an increase of 8.2% year on year. EBIT rose 5.6% to €540.2m. Adjusted EBIT grew 8.6% to €618.7m. Group net profit dipped 0.7% to €330.5m.
Campari said its sales were primarily driven by the “solid brand momentum” of its aperitifs, Tequila and Bourbon brands.
