Lion has taken full ownership of Australian craft spirits producer and brand owner Four Pillars.
The transaction, announced this week, sees the Kirin-owned Australasian subsidiary build on its purchase of a 50% stake in the gin company four years ago. While financial details were not disclosed, local media cited a figure of AUD50m [US$33.4m] for the remaining half of the business.
The ten-year-old company, based in the Yarra Valley near Melbourne, will join Lion’s Vanguard Luxury Brands distribution unit in a newly-formed division for the group, called Four Corners Global Spirits. The new business will be headed up by Ed Stening, who moved to Lion from Beam Suntory, where he was marketing lead for global travel retail, two years ago.
Four Pillars co-founder Cameron Mackenzie said: “Lion has played an integral part in us expanding our Healesville home, increasing our footprint across Australia and now increasingly New Zealand, as well as helping us plug into some great opportunities internationally and in global travel retail through the wider Lion network.”
As well as its namesake gin portfolio, Four Pillars also has a gin-based RTD in its range. The brand is available in 25 markets worldwide alongside its GTR presence.
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