Pernod Ricard and Sazerac both have an interest in either partnering with or acquiring Brown-Forman. In a new video, bourbon historian Fred Minnick looks at three other historic whiskey acquisitions in the recent past.

Specifically, he outlines three major American whiskey company acquisitions dating back to 1987, while discussing the ramifications, while noting that Jack Daniel’s would be the crown jewel in a Brown-Forman sale.

Here are the three acquisitions:

Jim Beam Acquires National Distillers

Fred talks about this one in his new book, Bottom Shelf, and in the video, he notes that Beam acquired National Distillers in 1987. National Distillers was the originator of the Old Crow brand featured prominently in the book, but Beam acquired the company primarily for a different reason – a liqueur called DeKuyper. But they also got a number of whiskey brands, from Old Crow to Old Granddad, and they were relegated to bottom-shelf products.

Of course, Brown-Forman is very bourbon-focused, so the similarities here are minimal.

“I cannot see either Sazerac nor Pernod Ricard doing anything that would hurt the momentum that Brown-Forman has built,” Fred says.

Pernod Ricard and Diageo Acquire Seagrams

Fred says this one has more in common with Brown-Forman’s situation. In 2000, Seagrams, maker of Crown Royal and other spirits, was acquired by Pernod Ricard. Fred says he could see Pernod Ricard and Sazerac splitting up Brown-Forman similarly. At that point, it would be a bidding war for Jack Daniel’s.

Suntory Acquires Jim Beam

In 2014, Suntory acquired whiskey giant Jim Beam, and didn’t change much of anything other than moving some offices. But the distilling and marketing of the products stayed the same – and in fact even funded new brands like Legent and Little Book. Fred says this was largely a positive acquisition for all involved – and the truth is, part of this positive outcome was due to the popularity of bourbon in Japan, where Suntory is headquartered. 

For Fred’s full breakdown, watch the video below:

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