Alcohol Brand Owners
Please see below for news story regarding Gleeson Group:
Gleeson ups wine stake with €6m Gilbeys deal
Gleeson Group, the Tipperary based drinks distributor, has bought the Gilbeys wine business from Diageo in a deal worth close to €6 million.
The deal was signed off on in recent days and followed approaches from a number of potential bidders. It is understood that Gleeson Group will continue to use the Gilbeys name and that the 30 or so staff working a t the wine firm will transfer to the new owner. Gleeson Group owns and distributes a number of well known brands including Tipperary Water, Finches soft drinks and Bavaria beer.
The firm did a refinancing deal earlier this year, which gave it a €25millionwar chest for acquisitions.
A spokeswoman for Diageo confirmed the transaction had taken place, but would not comment on the details. ‘‘The agreement is subject to regulatory approval of the Competition Authority, a process that is expected to take between one month and three months," she said.
Diageo, which owns Guinness and Baileys, has had previous dealings with Gleeson Group, which is owned by the Cooney family. It sold Finches to the group in 2004, followed by its United Beverage wholesale business in 2005.
Industry sources said Gleeson Group had had about 2 per cent of the wine distribution market before the deal, while Gilbeys had about 13 per cent.
Sales at Gleeson Group fell by €20 million last year to €230 million, and pre-tax profits were down 10 per cent to €2.7 million. No dividend was paid to the Cooney family, compared with €2.5 million in 2008.
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