Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard was established in 1975 through the merger of French firms and former rivals, Pernod SA and Ricard SA, both historic producers of pastis liqueurs. The company quickly went on the acquisition trail, with its first procurement in the Scotch whisky market being Campbell & Son and its Aberlour distillery and brands. It later added Edradour and Glenallachie to its portfolio, however both have since been moved on. Pernod Ricard’s then made significant gains at the expense of the dissolution of Seagram in 2000. The former Canadian giant’s spirits assets were mostly shared between it and Diageo the following year, with the French company acquiring Scottish-based Seagram Distillers spirits division which absorbed what was by then known as Campbell Distillers and is today the Chivas Brothers subsidiary that operates their entire Scottish portfolio.

In 2005, Pernod Ricard launched a takeover bid for Allied Domecq which upon completion made it the world’s second largest spirits company. So much so in fact that anti-trust laws meant several of its new assets were required to be offloaded to US-based Fortune Brands, including Laphroaig, Maker’s Mark and Teacher’s, although they retained Glendronach distillery despite opting to sell it just 3 years later. The key acquisition in the deal was the Ballantine’s brand and its associated distilleries which, like Campbell Distillers, were folded into Chivas Brothers. Also of note was the inclusion of the mothballed Imperial distillery, which the company demolished in 2013 and built Dalmunach distillery upon the grounds of, its first investment in a new Scottish production facility.

The purchase of Allied Domecq also gave the company a huge foothold on Canada through the inclusion of Hiram Walker & Sons. Although the same anti-trust ruling meant the flagship Canadian Club label also ended up with Fortune Brands, the company retained the Hiram Walker & Sons distillery in Windsor, Ontario, which it operates through its subsidiary Corby Spirit & Wine.

Pernod Ricard’s first investment in bourbon came in 1980 with the purchase of Austin Nichols and its Wild Turkey distillery and brand for $97.5m. They then briefly acquired what is now the Ross & Squibb distillery in 2001, but sold it in 2006 and then Wild Turkey to Gruppo Campari in 2009. It then did not return to the American whiskey market until 2016 when it acquired a majority share in the Smooth Ambler distillery in West Virginia. The purchase was completed by Austin Nichols & Co, which it had retained as its US-based subsidiary and operates all of its current American distilleries (doing business as Pernod Ricard Americas). These also include Rabbit Hole and Firestone & Robertson in Texas.

In 1988 Pernod Ricard made their move into Ireland with the acquisition of Irish Distillers, a company formed in 1966 through the merger of Ireland’s three remaining distilleries. At the time of their take-over, the company owned both Midleton and the Old Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland. The latter was sold to Diageo in 2005, but Pernod Ricard continue to operate at Midleton through Irish Distillers as their subsidiary. Its portfolio is headlined by the globally renowned Jameson brand.