Brown-Forman Corporation today announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase The BenRiach Distillery Company for approximately £285 million (US$415 million). The deal marks the company’s re-entry into the Scotch whisky category.
The transaction, which is expected to close on or around 1 June, will bring The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh Scotch whisky brands into Brown-Forman’s portfolio.
The purchase will include brand trademarks, three malt distilleries, a bottling plant, and the company’s headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. The BenRiach Distillery Company, which has a workforce of 165 employees, including 55 seasonal and casual workers, will operate as a subsidiary of Brown-Forman.
“The acquisition of these super-premium brands will allow Brown-Forman to re-enter one of our industry’s most exciting and consistent growth segments, single malt Scotch whisky,” said Brown-Forman Chief Executive Officer Paul Varga. “The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh single malt brands are rich in history and we believe they will continue to prosper and grow in our hands.”
Brown-Forman was previously a minority shareholder of Glenmorangie and marketed the Glenmorangie Single Malt Whisky brand in the USA and Canada from 1992 to 2005 and in Continental Europe and certain Asian markets from 2000 to 2005. Brown-Forman sold its interest as part of Glenmorangie’s sale to Moët Hennessy in 2005.
“We feel immensely privileged to have been custodians of this business for the last 12 years, and to be associated with these wonderful brands and great distilleries,” said The BenRiach Distillery Company Managing Director Billy Walker. “Our team have energised these distilleries and engaged creatively and successfully with the premium end of the market. We are very confident that Brown-Forman will take The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh brands to the next level and fulfill their full potential, and prove to be worthy custodians of these historic distilleries.”
The GlenDronach Distillery, located in the Scottish Highlands, was founded in 1826. GlenDronach produces a range of ultra-premium single malt whiskies and is most noted for its richly sherried whiskies. Located in the heart of Speyside, The BenRiach Distillery is known for experimenting with wood finishes, producing whisky from both non-peated and peated malted barley. The Glenglassaugh Distillery, founded in 1875, is located on the coast in the northern Scottish Highlands overlooking the North Sea and produces a coastal Highland malt.
