10 April 2007 - Pursuant to the agreement signed on January 31 this year, the Belvédère Group has just closed on the acquisition of the assets of the Florida Distillers Company in the United States from the Swedish State owned Group, V&S Vin & Sprit AB (parent company of Absolut vodka).
A strategic and value-creating transaction
Via this transaction, Belvedere is acquiring 2 distilleries in the United States with a total annual production capacity of 5 million (9 litres) cases of distilled spirits along with a dynamic new platform to develop its business in North America.
From a financial standpoint, this activity generated US$82M in turnover in 2006 with EBITDA of US$10.5M (based upon proforma data). The transaction, which will be earnings accretive, has been fully financed with the group's internal resources.