Pernod Ricard mulls selling Jacob’s Creek

The French drinks giant Pernod Ricard is reportedly mulling a sale of its Australian and New Zealand wine portoflio including its crown jewel Jacob’s Creek, according to report by Australian Financial Review.

Pernod Ricard, the maker of Absolut, Jameson and Chivas has 10 different wine brands under its name including Australia’s Jacob’s Creek, George Wyndham, and St Hugo, New Zealand’s Brancott Esate and Stoneleigh.

It’s understood the potential sale so far invovles only Pernod Ricard’s Australian and New Zealand wines excluding other wine brands and two Champagnes houses Perrier-Jouët and GH Mumm.

Pernod Ricard previously also tried to offload its wine division in 2019. At the time, the sale was valued at US$1 billion.

A Pernod spokesperson did not deny the story and told Bloomberg the company “regularly assesses and evaluates its strategic opportunities and is continuously exploring options, including divestments or the streamlining of some or part of individual business units.”

Compared with its spirits portfolio, its wine division only accounts for 4% of the group’s annual sales, according to its 2023 fiscal report. Its performance was described as the group as “soft”, and growth was mainly driven by Jacob’s Creek and Campo Viejo in the UK and North America.