Deals: In High Spirits

Pernod Ricard buys itself a few drinks in the consolidating liquor industry

Pernod Ricard's recent $17.1 billion acquisition of most of Britain's Allied Domecq makes the Paris-based company a competitive No. 2 operator in wine and spirits worldwide, behind London's Diageo, with sales of 77 million cases. But it's not about figures, says

Michel Bord, the CEO of Pernod Ricard USA. It's about the transformational growth of a French spirits company born of wormwood and anise to a "gentlemanly" global gorilla with a premium portfolio of wines and spirits centered on 14 major brands.

Chugging two-thirds of Allied Domecq (Fortune Brands downed the rest, for $5 billion) will add 65% more to Pernod...

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