Campari Group Buys Into Capevin Holdings
Campari Group has acquired a 14.6% minority stake in Capevin Holdings, which indirectly owns the Scotch whisky company responsible for several major brands, from ODC (BidCo).
Capvein, a South African holding company, owns CVH Spirits, a Scottish company that produces and commercializes single malt whiskies Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermory, and Ledaig, as well as blended whiskies Scottish Leader and Black Bottle.
Campari paid £69.6 million in cash for the minority stake in the company, which also holds the distribution rights for brands from CVH Spirits Limited in France and South Korea.
Campari Group has exercised its right to appoint a board member and has additional governance rights to “protect its minority position” following its memorandum of incorporation.
Campari Group Buys Into Capevin Holdings
There are currently four whiskies in Campari’s whisky range, including The Glen Grant, Wild Turkey and Wilderness Trail bourbons, and Canadian brand Forty Creek. All these brands are international and most are luxury brands.
A majority shareholder in CVH is Stellenbosch-based financial services company Remgro, which was formerly part of South African drinks firm Distell Group, acquired by Heineken in 2023.
According to its new CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti, the company has experienced “temporary headwinds” since it acquired Courvoisier late last year for US$1.3bn. The company reported 3.8% net sales growth in the half year to July and 6.9% in the second quarter.
Speaking to the drinks business, Fantacchiotti said about the Courvoisier acquisition and more generally: “We like dusty, unloved brands with fantastic heritage, where we can really dig into the story of the brand.”
During the interview, he also mentioned Glen Grant’s performance in Asia, which may explain why he holds a minority stake in the whisky brands. He said: “Our brown spirits are doing really well in Asia.”
“I need to say that Glen Grant in Asia is doing phenomenally well off a small base.”
