Latest Deals

Credit: Diageo

Diageo is exchanging brand rights for vodka brand Ciroc for a majority stake in Tequila brand Lobos 1707. The drinks giant has struck a deal with US investment firm Main Street Advisors for a joint venture covering the two brands. Diageo is swapping the majority ownership of Ciroc’s brand rights in North America for a majority stake in Lobos 1707 worldwide.

Castillo Hermanos has struck a deal to buy SunnyD maker Harvest Hill Beverage Company from private-equity firm Brynwood Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed. Harvest Hill’s portfolio includes Juicy Juice, SunnyD and adult beverage brands such as Daily’s. Guatemalan conglomerate Castillo Hermanos said the deal “significantly expands” its footprint in the US, providing a platform to scale its operations in the country.

Stock Spirits Group has snapped up UK importer and distributor The Drinks Company. Jean-Christophe Coutures, Stock Spirits’ CEO, described the purchase as a “strong strategic fit” and the “next logical step” in achieving its “ambition to build a broader European footprint”. Set up in 1996, The Drinks Company operates across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the travel retail sector.

Müller has acquired UK kefir products firm Biotiful Gut Health to expand into the “functional health” dairy business. Germany-based Müller, one of the largest dairy companies in the UK, said the acquisition will help the company “to serve more consumer needs across the category”. Biotiful produces a range of kefir and other “natural gut health” products, Müller said.