France: Pernod Ricard core shareholders, Kirin Breweries form shareholder pact

The core shareholders of French company, Pernod Ricard, which include members of the Ricard family have formed a shareholder pact with Kirin Brewery Co, which holds a 3.7 pct stake in the company as part of a distribution agreement signed by Pernod and Kirin in 2002, according to a company filing with the AMF French markets regulator, AFX communicated on March 27.

In a statement released by the French AMF markets authority, the founding Ricard family and Japan's Kirin Brewery Company Ltd. said they had agreed to act in concert at annual meetings for a period of up to seven years from March 22, according to Reuters.

The shareholding group holds a combined 13.7 pct stake in Pernod Ricard, and 21 pct of the voting rights, and the members of the pact have agreed to vote unanimously on resolutions presented at the company's AGMs.

The AMF said both partners had declared their aim was to continue acquiring shares in Pernod Ricard without taking control of the company.

The pact follows a decision by Pernod Ricard in January to absorb Societe Immobiliere et Financiere pour l'Alimentation (SIFA), a holding company which owned 7.7 percent of Pernod Ricard's shares and which was 47.5 percent owned by Kirin.

Under the pact, Kirin will only sell Pernod Ricard shares if it incurs a tax liability in Japan from the SIFA operation. The Ricard family would have right of first refusal on any shares.

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