Bacardi and Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter appear to have settled their legal spat over joint venture Cognac brand D’Ussé with the spirits group taking majority control.
The transaction, for an undisclosed sum and stake, sees Carter retain a “significant” holding in what Bacardi described as “the multi-billion-dollar brand”. Today’s announcement comes almost four months after Carter’s SC Liquor business, which teamed up with Bacardi for D’Ussé in 2011, filed court papers requesting financial and production information from Bacardi about the JV.
The brand’s VSOP expression retails in the US for around US$44 per 75cl bottle with the XO iterations costing in the region of $140.
The US is by far the largest market for the combined Armagnac/Cognac category, accounting for just over 50% of global volumes, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. In 2021, the country was responsible for sales of 8.6m nine-litre cases, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%.
Rémy Martin brand owner Rémy Cointreau warned last week that consumption of Cognac in the US was approaching a "normalisation" phase. The company has lined up an ad for Rémy Martin during the Super Bowl on 12 February.
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