A prospective tie-up between France's Pernod Ricard and Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman would test whether the powerful families behind the two drinks groups can unite to scale up in a slowing global spirits market. Shares in Pernod Ricard, the world's No.2 spirits maker, rose 3% on Friday after slumping to a 2009 low the day before when it confirmed merger talks with U.S. rival Brown-Forman. The Brown family holds more than 67.5% of Brown-Forman's Class A voting shares, according to Barclays. Still, analysts said, a deal would not automatically fix the sector's most pressing issue: top-line growth. As of Thursday's close, Brown-Forman had a market capitalisation of almost $12 billion, while Pernod's stood at around 15 billion euros ($17 billion).

Source: The Telegraph March 27, 2026 11:16 UTC