À̹ÌÁö È®´ë French spirits group Pernod Ricard SA has placed its entire 100 percent stake in Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial Co., owner of Korea¡¯s No.3 whisky brand ¡°Imperial¡± up for sale reportedly at up to 80 billion won ($71.4 million) amid sagging sales of hard spirit in Korea, according to investment bank sources on Thursday.
¡°Imperial¡± is home-grown Scotch whisky first hit the Korean market in 1994, but it has been manufactured and sold by Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial since the world¡¯s second-largest wine and spirits seller Pernod Ricard took over Imperial¡¯s original owner Jinro Ballantines in 2000. Once-top seller currently ranks No. 3 in the whisky market.
It is reported that JP Morgan is leading the sale deal with an estimated price tag of between 60 billion won and 80 billion won.
A source close to the deal said multiple investors are already showing interest in the stake sale for Imperial¡¯s high brand value, although the Korean whisky market has been on the decline amid the growing popularity of lighter drinks such as beer and wine. Korean breweries Lotte Liquor BG and HiteJinro, as well as local retail giant Shinsegae Group, are considered top contenders.
It has been long been suspected that Pernod Ricard would sell off Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial any time. The French company has two separate units in Korea - Pernod Ricard Korea in charge of selling imported spirits in Korea and Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial that produces and sells Imperial Scotch whisky only.
Since the French spirit giant took control of Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial, Korea¡¯s whisky market has undergone many changes. The market has been shifting towards premium labels, mostly imported brands, from home-grown liquors such as Imperial.
Also, the tendency to enjoy lighter drink and drinking alone as well as the increasing number of female drinkers has led beer to become the country¡¯s best-selling foreign liquor elbowing out harder liquor whisky recently. Before Koreans turned to lighter spirits, whisky used to be the most popular foreign liquor in the country.
Reflecting such changes, Imperial has been struggling to restore its old glory. Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial logged a net loss of 3.5 billion won for its fiscal year ended June 2018, and its sales shriveled to 82 billion won from 99.8 billion won. Over the same period, Pernod Ricard Korea recorded a net profit of 17.1 billion won on sales of 103.8 billion won, which was nearly unchanged from the same period a year ago.
By Lee Duk-joo and Cho Jeehyun
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]