Glenmorangie, one of the most prestigious Scotch whisky brands and the last quoted independent Scottish distiller, has been put up for sale, attracting interest from several international drinks companies.
Analysts and bankers said Brown-Forman, the US maker of Jack Daniels, and Bacardi-Martini, the rum maker, were among the most likely bidders after the controlling Macdonald family revealed it intended to sell its stake and said it was in talks with a number of parties. The Macdonalds have been involved with Glenmorangie for more than a century but have not had a member on the board since Mr David Macdonald retired as chairman 10 years ago, and has been looking for an exit.
The family declined to comment yesterday.
Bankers said buyers were likely to come from the industry rather than from venture capitalists or private equity firms because trade buyers could make huge cost savings.
It is understood that any offer will have to be above £300 million (€444 million) - far higher than the company's £230 million enterprise value - to succeed. Shares in Glenmorangie, the world's sixth-biggest whisky company, jumped 25 per cent yesterday.
At that level, the Macdonald family would get about £100 million - it controls more than 50 per cent of shares but the structure means it owns only about a third of the company by value. "Glenmorangie has rarity value and some marvellous brands, and the family would be looking for a significant premium in the price," said Mr Alan Gray, whisky analyst at Sutherlands.
Mr Fulton Paterson, of Seymour Pierce, added: "It's been a plum for quite some time - it's a very tasty bite. But the management should be kept in place, having made the brand number one in the UK."
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)