Business News: Battle for Herradura heats up

Pernod Ricard and Bacardi are in the race to buy Tequila Herradura, one of the largest producers of tequila in Mexico.

The Guadalajara-based distiller has been looking for a buyer since April.

Although Pernod Ricard already owns two Mexican tequila brands,  Olmeca and Viuda de Romero, it is looking to plug the gap left by Sauza Tequila, which it reluctantly sold to Fortune Brands last year as part of the Allied Domecq takeover. Other firms rumoured to be interested in making the acquisition include Fortune Brands and Brown-Forman. Moët-Hennessy has also been linked to the sale.

Media speculation estimates that the Herradura brand could fetch between $800m and $1bn from a buyer keen to gain wider access to the Mexican market. Tequila is one of the fastest-growing categories in the US – a market that accounts for 75% of the spirit’s sales. The brand is known for its premium añejo and reposado tequilas as well as its standard brand Jimador.

© db September 2006