HiteJinro is reportedly considering a move to buy Diageo’s Windsor whisky business for a fee of Won200bn ($150m).
The South Korean drinks company has said it is “presently reviewing the acquisition of Windsor Global”, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
Hitejinro reportedly made a regulatory filing on the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART) website, operated by the Financial Supervisory Service, saying: “No decision has been made. We plan to provide more specific details once they are confirmed, either upon confirmation or within the next month,” it said.
All of Windsor Global is up for sale, Korea JoongAng Daily said. Diageo operates separately in Korea under the entities Diageo Korea and Windsor Global.
Last year, Diageo’s attempted sale of Windsor Global to the Bayside Private Equity and Metis Private Equity consortium unit fell through.
After announcing in March 2022 it would offload Windsor Global to the consortium for Won200bn, the deal was cancelled in September.
As well as Windsor blended Scotch, which is led by the 12- and 17-year-old whiskies, Bayside and Metis were set to take over the ‘W Series’ of brands that includes W Signature, W Ice and W Rare.
Diageo refused to comment on the reported discussions. Just Drinks has also contacted HiteJinro for comment.
According to GlobalData, the whisk(e)y category in South Korea is expected to reach Won1.57trn in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3% during the preceding five years.
