Distell Acquires Burn Stewart For $244 Million

South Africa-based Distell has acquired 100% of Scotch producer Burn Stewart from CL World Brands and Angostura Limited in a deal worth $244 million. Burn Stewart’s brands include the Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston single malts—located on Islay, Mull and in the Scottish Highlands respectively—as well as the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blends.

Last year, Burn Stewart announced that it had invested in a new bottling line to target the U.S., Eastern Europe, Taiwan, South Africa and other strategic export markets in a bid to continue diversifying its business, which in the past has been built around private label whisky for U.K. supermarkets. In the U.S., Burn Stewart’s brands are handled by International Beverage Company.

Distell’s purchase includes the three single malt distilleries above; a blending and maturation facility; a bottling hall; a dry and finished goods storage site, Burn Stewart’s in-house marketing and distribution functions; and all its Scotch whisky stocks. Distell’s brands include the Two Oceans and Durbanville Hills wine labels, as well as Amarula liqueur (handled in the U.S. by Aveníu Brands).

“This strategic purchase of a fully integrated producer of both blended and single malt whiskies will allow us to capitalize on the continuing global growth in whisky consumption and give us access to scarce blended and single malt stocks from prime whisky-producing regions in Scotland, while also enhancing our global footprint,” Distell said in a statement.

Tagged : Distell Group, Scotch whisky, spirits

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