Bacardi to buy 100% stake in tequila maker Patron

Bacardi, the liquor company known best for its rum, announced Monday it is buying 100 percent of premium tequila maker Patron in a deal worth $5.1 billion.

Bacardi had been a minority shareholder in Patron for about 10 years, before announcing this deal, set to close in the first half of the year.

“As we move forward together, we will continue to pursue perfection as the guiding light in everything Patron stands for,” Facundo Bacardi, chairman of the family-owned company, said in a statement.

The deal will make Bacardi the number one spirits player in the super-premium segment in the US market, and the second largest spirits company in market share by value, the company said.

Bacardi already owns two premium tequila brands, along with Grey Goose vodka and Bombay Sapphire gin, along with its eponymous rum and other spirits.

The privately-held Patron makes several versions of its premium tequila, which it said to be the fastest-growing segments of the spirits market.

“Adding Patron to the Bacardi portfolio creates a tremendous opportunity for the brand outside of the United States as Bacardi’s international distribution network will help grow Patron around the world, increasing scale in the US and globally,” said Bacardi CEO Mahesh Madhavan.

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