Singapore – Beam Suntory, is a subsidiary of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd, which itself is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The company has taken full control of its South African distributor, ABV Brands, two years after buying a 50% stake.
The company said the move, completed last week, gives it complete ownership of its route-to-market in South Africa. Beam Suntory described the country as a "high-potential emerging market" for its brands, particularly Courvoisier Cognac and Jim Beam Bourbon.
Beam Suntory bought half of ABV Brands in January 2016 as the US-Japanese spirits group exited a distribution JV in South Africa with Cyprus-based FIX Wines & Spirits. ABV Brands has been Beam Suntory’s South African distributor since it was formed in 2010 by FIX and local entrepreneurs Ross Calow and Daniel Hawkins.
Financial details have not been disclosed.
