Pernod Ricard

Type	Public (Euronext: RI)
Founded	1975
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Pierre Pringuet (CEO), Patrick Ricard (Chairman of the board)
Industry	Drinks
Products	Alcoholic beverages
Revenue	€6.589 billion (year - June 2008)[1]
Operating income	▲ €1.522 billion (yr - Jun 2008)[1]
Profit	▲ €840 million (yr - Jun 2008)[1]
Employees	17,630 (2008)[1]
Website	www.pernod-ricard.com

Pernod Ricard (Euronext: RI) is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company's most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.

Reborn from the Pernod Fils company as a producer of anise liqueur following the ban on absinthe, it is now a worldwide conglomerate. It owns the alcoholic beverage division of the former Seagram corporation, among many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired British-based international competitor Allied Domecq plc.

In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced the acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group including Absolut Vodka.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pernod 1.2 Ricard 1.3 Pernod Ricard 2 Brands 3 Subsidiaries 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Pernod

• 1797 - Henri-Louis Pernod opened his first absinthe distillery in Switzerland.

• 1805 – Maison Pernod Fils (simply known as Pernod Fils) was founded in Pontarlier, Franche-Comté in eastern France by Henri-Louis Pernod, a French distiller of Francophone Swiss origin, and started the production of the anise-flavored liquor known as absinthe.

• 1850 - Henri-Louis Pernod died.

• 1871 – Distillerie Hémard was founded near Paris.

• 1872 – Société Pernod Père & Fils opened in Avignon.

• 1915 – Production and consumption of absinthe was prohibited in France. Most companies looked for alternatives and begin producing pastis instead.

• 1926 – All 3 distilleries merged to form Les Établissements Pernod.

• 1951 – Pastis 51, was launched.

• 1965 – Takeover of Distillerie Rousseau, Laurens et Moureaux, producer of the Suze liquor since 1889.

[edit] Ricard

• 1932 – Ricard which soon became France's favourite long drink, was founded in Marseille by Paul Ricard.

• 1940 – Production of pastis was prohibited by the Vichy regime.

• 1944 – Production of pastis became legal again.

• 1968 – Paul Ricard retired, his son Patrick became CEO in 1978.

[edit] Pernod Ricard

• 1975 – Old rivals Pernod and Ricard merged to form Pernod Ricard S.A..

• 1988 – Pernod Ricard acquired Irish Distillers (which includes Jameson Irish whiskeys).

• 1989 – Pernod Ricard acquired Orlando Wyndham (makers of Jacob's Creek).

• 1993 – Pernod Ricard worked with Cuban companies to create Havana Club International.

• 2001 – Pernod Ricard purchased 38% of Seagram's Wines and Spirits business.

• 2005 – Pernod Ricard purchased Allied Domecq.

• 2008 – Pernod Ricard was announced as the winner of a bidding war to buy V&S Group include the Absolut Vodka brand, from the Swedish government^[2].

[edit] Brands

Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of beverage brands worldwide. These include:

Royal Salute whisky (scotch whisky) Chivas Regal (scotch whisky) The Glenlivet (single malt scotch whisky) Jameson Irish Whiskey Seagram's gin Pernod aux extraits d'absinthe Luksusowa (highest quality Polish potato vodka) Absolut (vodka) Wyborowa (vodka) Ricard and 51 (pastis)

Martell (cognac) Jacob's Creek (wine) Pernod (anise-based spirit) Zoco Becherovka DITA (lychee-based spirit) Havana Club (rum).

As of 26 July 2005, the brand portfolio expanded to include former Allied Domecq products:

Ballantine's scotch; Kahlúa coffee liqueur; Malibu coconut-flavored rum; Beefeater gin;

Tia Maria liqueur; Stolichnaya vodka (which is now under William Grant & Sons); Mumm champagne; Perrier-Jouët champagne.

Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Fortune Brands acquired a number of former Allied Domecq brands from Pernod Ricard following Pernod Ricard's acquisition of Allied Domecq. These include:

Sauza tequila; Courvoisier cognac; Canadian Club whisky; Clos du Bois; Other Sonoma and Napa wine brands; Laphroaig malt whisky; Teacher's Highland Cream Scotch whisky;

Cockburn's port; Harveys sherries; Larios gin; DYC whisky; Fundador Spanish brandy; Centenario Spanish brandy; Kuemmerling German bitters.

Fortune Brands' agreement with Pernod Ricard also included the purchase of the Maker's Mark bourbon brand, which remained subject to regulatory clearance in the United States. While the U.S. Federal Trade Commission conducted its review, Maker's Mark was owned and managed by Pernod Ricard and Pernod Ricard received the earnings from the brand. Fortune Brands was compensated with interest payments upon transfer of the brand.^[3]

Yoo-hoo chocolate beverage (notably non-alcoholic) was sold to Pernod Ricard in 1989, and in 2001 Pernod Ricard sold it to Cadbury Schweppes.

[edit] Subsidiaries

• Pernod Ricard Pacific (Australia) – Owner of Orlando Wines (incl. Jacob's Creek) and Wyndham Estate
• Pernod Ricard NZ – Owner of Montana Wines
• Corby Distilleries - Canadian subsidiary, owner of Wiser's whisky, Lamb's rum
• Pernod Ricard Rouss - Subsidiary in the Russian Federation
• Irish Distillers - Irish subsidiary

[edit] See also

• Jean Venturi

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Pernod Ricard announces more senior changes

v • d • e CAC 40 companies of France Accor · Air Liquide · Alcatel-Lucent · Alstom · ArcelorMittal · AXA · BNP Paribas · Bouygues · Capgemini · Carrefour · Crédit Agricole · Dexia · EADS · EDF · Essilor · France Télécom · GDF Suez · Groupe Danone · L'Oréal · Lafarge · Lagardère · LVMH · Michelin · Pernod Ricard · PSA Peugeot Citroën · PPR · Renault · Saint-Gobain · Sanofi-Aventis · Schneider Electric · Société Générale · STMicroelectronics · Suez Environnement · Technip · Total · Unibail-Rodamco · Vallourec · Veolia Environnement · VINCI · Vivendi