USA: Kirin puts Four Roses whiskey line up for sale

Japan’s Kirin Holdings has put its Kentucky bourbon brand Four Roses up for sale at a price of $1bn, as the brewer pivots away from the struggling spirits sector towards healthcare, The Financial Times reported on October 24.

Kirin has been working with advisers from UBS to test interest from potential buyers in recent weeks, with first-round bids expected as early as next month, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The sale process comes during a tough period for brewers and distillers as they contend with changing habits among younger consumers, who are reducing alcohol consumption. In Japan, beer consumption has dropped, hurting Kirin’s core product.

Kirin and UBS declined to comment.

Kirin, a Japanese conglomerate that generates more than $15bn a year in sales and produces everything from lager and spirits to rare diseases medicines under its Kyowa Kirin subsidiary, has owned Four Roses since 2002.

Tracing its origins back to 1888, Four Roses is produced in a distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in the heart of so-called Bourbon Country. Four Roses generated about $70mn in adjusted earnings annually and was expected to fetch as much as $1bn, the people said.

After first entering the pharmaceutical sector in the 1980s, Kirin has accelerated its push into healthcare in recent years, as well as shedding non-core beverage assets, such as a soft drinks joint venture in China.

Last year the company bought the skincare and supplements company Fancl as part of the effort. And in 2023 it launched a $1.3bn takeover for Australia’s largest vitamin company Blackmores.

Across 2024, Kirin’s pharmaceutical division generated 23 per cent of the group’s $15.4bn in total revenue, up from 20 per cent in 2020. Shares in Kirin are up 14 per cent so far this year, giving it a market value of nearly $13.6bn as of Thursday’s close.

Four Roses was likely to draw interest from strategic buyers, but some large drinks conglomerates might remain on the sidelines as they grappled with problems with their own product portfolios, the people said.

The S&P food and beverage index is down 4.9 per cent over the past year, whereas the wider S&P 500 index is up 16 per cent over the same period.

There were no guarantees that the sale process would result in a deal, the people cautioned. It is also possible that Kirin may opt to sell off a stake in the business through a joint venture, they added.