Campari Group said it agreed to acquire Courvoisier from Beam Suntory for $1.2 billion with an expected additional $120 million to be paid in 2029, depending upon the brand's performance. The transaction sees the enterprise value of Courvoisier at $1.32 billion, about 17 times CAAP for 2022. The transaction is expected to close next year.

Courvoisier's net sales in 2022 were $249 million, 60% of which were in the U.S. The brand's maturing stock is valued at $365million, as of Oct. 31, with "well-balanced age profiles to support future brand development," Campari said.

The transaction is 100% financed with a bridge loan, funded by a consortium of banks led by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. The bridge loan has a life of 24 months.

Campari said cognac will now be the fourth major leg of Campari Group, along with aperitifs, bourbon and tequila.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, Campari CEO, said he Campari has a "fantastic opportunity to reinforce this brand’s credentials as a global icon of luxury."

Matteo Fantacchiotti, deputy Chief Executive Officer Campari Group, said this is the biggest deal in Campari's history. "In addition to acquiring a globally recognized brand with strong premiumization credentials, we have a unique opportunity to expand our cognac production and bottling capacity in France, a core platform of our global supply chain."

Maison Courvoisier was founded in 1828, by Félix Courvoisier in Jarnac, the Charente region of France. Courvoisier is the youngest and most awarded of the ’big four’ historical cognac houses and received the title of Official Supplier to the
House of the Emperor by Napoléon III, supplied the royal courts of Europe and was the drink of choice of the Belle Epoque, chosen to celebrate the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower and the opening of Moulin Rouge.