Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell Mexican brandies Don Pedro, Presidente and Azteca de Oro, as well as a Mexican winery, to Bodega Las Copas, a 50-50 joint venture between González Byass and Grupo Emperador Spain.The deal, which is expected to close by mid-2017, is part of Pernod’s effort to streamline its portfolio and increase focus on its priority spirits and wine brands. Pernod acquired the Domecq business in its joint 2005 purchase of former global spirits player Allied Domecq with Fortune Brands (the then parent company of Beam Inc.).

Bodega Las Copas says the deal will reinforce its presence in the global brandy category. Emperador’s namesake brandy, controlled by Chinese Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group, is the third-largest spirits brand worldwide at 33.5 million cases, according to Impact Databank, deriving much of its volume within the low-priced Philippine brandy market (although it also has a foothold in Canada and other global markets, where it sells at higher price points). González Byass’s existing brandy stable includes Spanish labels Soberano ($25-$30) and Lepanto ($55), which are marketed in the U.S. —Daniel Marsteller