Diageo Offers To Sell Invergordon, Jura and Fettercairn

[William]

Diageo has offered to sell most of Whyte & Mackay's whisky assets to address competition concerns arising from its July acquisition of a controlling interest in India's United Spirits. For sale Invergordon, Jura and Fettercairn distilleries, offers over £350 million!

Full story here:
www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/diageotosellwhyteandmackay.htm
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[bifter]

Was literally just posting this story but you got there first. I'm sure there will be no shortage of interest.
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"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]

[Quaich1]

The world of high finance in liquid form-amazing!

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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[William]

I would guess the likely buyers would be Beam or Bacardi but you never know perhaps a new player could be tempted considering it is a grain and malt distilleries for sale.
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[jcarrick]

What about French spirits group Remy Cointreau now they have acquired a taste for whisky when they bought Bruichladdich.

[Kenny M]

Whoever gets Jura it would be great to seem them take production down a peatier route as i think it really works for Jura.

[bifter]

Diageo are still trying to pick the jewel in the crown by keeping Dalmore so the OFT could yet refer the whole thing to the Competition Commission. I imagine if they keep it, Dalmore could replace Dalwhinnie in the Classic Malts line-up.

As much as I like some of the malts in the Diageo line-up, the more I learn about them as a company, the less I like them. They certainly don't seem as interested in whisky as in profit and they have been regularly exposed for their sharp business practices. The more competition the better for the consumer methinks.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/02/tax-gap-diageo-johnnie-walker

http://www.ministryofrum.com/blog/?p=198

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/diageo-v-brewdog

...just off the top of my head!
_________________
"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]

[Keith]

If they try to sell all these distilleries as a package there is only a handful of companies with the money who would be interested and perhaps they are happy with the set up they have in the current financial climate. I wonder if Diageo may have to let these go at a knock down price.

[John]

I would think the major problem OFT have with Diageo is the Invergordon grain distillery. With blended whisky making up around 90% of all Scotch whisky sales if Diageo were to keep Invergordon they would control a big chunk of the whisky market.

As a malt whisky drinker i am surprised at their choice of malt whisky distilleries they want to keep but as you say bifter Diageo are all about business and their choice will be a business choice which i would gues is based partly on distllery location and distillery output capacity. Fettercairn is only 2.3 million litres per annum, Jura is only 2.2 million litres per annum were Tamnavulin is 4 million litres per annum and Dalmore is 3.7 million litres per annum

[James T]

You would think someone like Beam would be interested, AFAIK they only really have Teachers as their big selling Scotch blended whisky but then Bacardi who produce the big selling Dewars brand could possibly be interested in a grain distillery. I wonder where they both currently source their grain whisky from to go in to their blends

[beany123]

Wonder if my piggy bank can stretch...interesting stuff.

[Kray]

[Cuba]

It will be interesting to see what happens here, i wonder if they will end up selling them off seperately.