Suntory Acquires Beam – Japanese Drinks Company becomes the Third Largest

Suntory Holdings Limited, based in Osaka, and US based Beam Inc. have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Suntory will acquire all shares of Beam in a deal worth $16bn.  The acquisition, which will bring together Beam’s Courvoisier Cognac with Suntory’s Louis Royer Cognac, amongst other famous brands, is expected to make it the third largest supplier of premium spirits in the world, with a stated aim of becoming the global leader in distilled spirits.  Wasting no time on its expansion plans, it is reported that Suntory have subsequently made a bid to buy Whyte & Mackay whisky which has been put up for sale by fellow drinks giant, Diageo.  Competition concerns by the UK Office of Fair Trading forced Diageo to make this sale following its takeover of United Spirits.  One therefore has to question the motive of Suntory in making this move as they may now be heading for a run in with the OFT themselves.  So many cognac houses have been bought up of late it is always a concern to see the control of one of the big four moving to the Far East.  Monopolies of this size cannot be good for the cognac industry however we are in no doubt that our own House, Hermitage, will survive.