Campari Group is to bring the production of French liqueur Picon in-house by the end of the year.
The move follows the end of a deal Campari struck with Diageo when the Italian group bought Picon in 2022.
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Under the terms of the transaction, Diageo agreed to continue to manufacture Picon products for two years.
Campari said the production of Picon will move to its facility in Aubevoye, north-west of Paris.
“It is a standard procedure that we have planned to do since the closing of the acquisition,” a spokesperson said. “We aim to anchor brands to their territories, and this is a part of the brand’s heritage.”
Campari paid Diageo a sum in the region of €119m (then $125m) for Picon.
When the deal was announced, Campari said some 80% of Picon’s €21.5m sales for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2021 were in the brand’s domestic market.
In Campari’s 2023 annual report, the company lists France and Belgium as the “core markets” for Picon.
Overall, the Grand Marnier owner generated sales of €171.7m in 2023, up 21.3% on a year earlier. France accounted for just under 6% of Campari’s group sales last year.
In the annual report, the company said the growth was “driven by core Aperol and Campari, as well as Riccadonna sparkling wine, [rum brand] Trois Rivieres, Picon and Champagne Lallier, benefiting from a strong focus on the group’s own portfolio”.
In December, Campari announced a deal to buy Cognac brand Courvoisier from Beam Suntory for up to $1.32bn.
The structure of the transaction – which is set to be Campari’s biggest acquisition, beating its 2016 move for Grand Marnier – will see the company put up $1.2bn, with an additional payment of a maximum of $120m expected to be made in 2029. Publicly-listed Campari said that gave Courvoisier an enterprise value multiple of “circa 17 times the contribution after A&P” the brand generated last year.
