Jan. 23 (UPI) — Bacardi International announced Monday that it will acquire Patrón tequila for $5.1 billion.
The deal gives Bacardi Limited a 100 percent ownership of Patrón Spirits International AG and its Patrón brand, “the world’s top-selling ultra-premium tequila,” Bacardi said in a statement.
“Tequila is one of the fastest-growing and most attractive categories in the spirits industry, with Patrón being the clear market leader in the super-premium segment,” Bacardi said. “Super-premium brands continue to experience the fastest growth, and the trend is expected to continue.”
The luxury tequila market has been rising in recent years with the Patrón brand getting the lion’s share of sales, according to Shanken News Daily, a news service that covers the beer, wine and spirits industry.
Shanken reports that since 2012, tequilas that cost more than $40 a bottle has expanded by 800,000 cases with Patrón making 70 percent of those sales.
Overall, tequila sales have risen by an average of 6 percent each year since 2002, CNBC reported.
Bacardi, a family-owned company headquartered in Bermuda, said its purchase of Patrón will make it “the number one spirits player in the super-premium segment in the U.S. and the second largest spirits company in market share by value in the critically important U.S. market.”
Bacardi, best known for its rum, also produces Dewar’s whisky, Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka and Cazadores tequila.
