Bisquit Acquisition A Far-Sighted Move For Distell

In a major coup, South Africa's leading wine and spirits producer Distell has acquired French cognac label Bisquit, one of the world's biggest brandy producers for ZAR405.3mn (US$39.1mn. Having cemented its market leading position in South Africa, Distell (part owned by SABMiller) has been surveying growth avenues and will use the acquisition to increase its exposure to European markets. CFW sees the acquisition as a far sighted move that Distell will expect to bear fruit once global demand recovers. In addition to France, Bisquit is a market leading brand in Belgium and is also popular across a number of high value markets such as Germany and Russia. Domestically, it can also look to capitalise on the increasing trend towards premium once the economic headwinds pass as it bets on consumers responding favourably to its acquisition of a top-tier brand and the addition of a number of Bisquit's historic labels to its product portfolio.

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