Campari completes acquisition of Baron Philippe de Rothschild Distribution

Gruppo Campari has completed its €60 million acquisition of its French distributor, Baron Philippe de Rothschild Distribution.

The company first announced it had entered negotiations to acquire the French distributor, which was owned by Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A., back in November last year and confirmed that completion of the deal on Friday, after obtaining antitrust clearance. The subsidary will be known as Campari France Distribution S.A.S.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild Distribution has been the exclusive distributor of several of the Italian drinks group’s top brands in France since 2009, including: Campari, Aperol, Cynar, Appleton Estate rum, Skyy vodka, Glen Grant Scotch, Grand Marnier and Sagatiba, but it’s portfolio includes a number of prestigious wine and spirits brands, including the stable of Château Mouton Rothschild, Pol Roger, Champagne Brimoncourt, Familia Torres, Tio Pepe, Zonin, Symington Family Estates, Concha y Toro, Hardy’s, Trivento, Hibiki Japanese whisky, Canadian Club, Auchentoshan, Bowmore and Jim Beam.

The company said that the strong performance of Aperol and Riccadonna in France had made the Campari Group the largest contributor of the French distributor’s sales value and growth to the distributor, which hit total sales of €145.1 million in 2018.

It is the latest in a spate of recent changes for Campari in recent years, which has seen it divest itself of its wine portfolio and non-drinks assets such as Villa les Cèdres  while boosting its spirit portfolio with the acquisition of brands including French rhum agricole brands ‘Trois Rivières’ and ‘La Mauny’, and mezcal producer Montelobos.

Speaking in December when the deal was agreed, Campari’s CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said the acquisition would be “a key step forward” for Campari Group’s long-term growth strategy, which was aimed at “continuously strengthening our route-to-market globally”.

“France is a core and high potential market for Campari Group, mainly thanks to our aperitifs business and the newly acquired rhum agricole premium brands Trois Rivières and La Mauny. This deal offers us a unique opportunity to insource RFD’s strong distribution capabilities and therefore operate directly in this market, benefitting from significantly increased critical mass as well as enhanced focus on our core brand portfolio,” he said.