Corby Spirit and Wine to acquire 90% of Ace Beverage Group

• The purchase price is C$148.5 million
  
• The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024
• With roots dating back to 2013, Ace Beverage Group’s flagship brand is Cottage Springs, a ready-to-drink brand

Corby Spirit and Wine, the Canadian affiliate of Pernod Ricard, has agreed to acquire a 90 percent stake in Ace Beverage Group, a Toronto-based beverage alcohol company.

The purchase price is C$148.5 million, with the overall enterprise value totaling C$165 million.

The remaining 10 percent of the business will mainly be held by certain Ace founders. Corby has a path to 100 percent ownership of Ace through a series of two call options on the remaining shares, exercisable in 2025 and 2028.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.

With roots dating back to 2013, Ace Beverage Group’s flagship brand is Cottage Springs, a ready-to-drink brand. The company’s portfolio also includes brands Ace Hill, Cabana Coast and Liberty Village.

Corby is a Toronto-based manufacturer, marketer and distributor of spirits and imported wines. The deal adds significant scale to its portfolio in the ready-to-drink category, the company said in statement. It is expected to increase Corby’s operating revenue by around 35 percent and to be accretive on operating margin.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Ace and become one of the leading ready-to-drink players in Canada, as we believe the combined strength of our companies and people will unlock new opportunities,” said Nicolas Krantz, Corby’s president and CEO.

Ace Beverage Group, formerly known as Ace Hill Beer, in 2017 sold an interest in the business to Kensington Capital Partners. Kensington is a Toronto-based alternative investment firm with $2.7 billion in assets under management.