By Abigail Summerville
May 12 (Reuters) – Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman has rejected the $32 per share cash takeover offer from rival Sazerac, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The rejection follows Brown-Forman ending merger talks with the French spirits maker Pernod Ricard late last month.
American spirits group Sazerac, which owns brands including Corazon tequila and Svedka vodka, had emerged as a rival suitor to Brown-Forman amidst the talks with Pernod, and a source had said the family that controls the Jack Daniel’s maker favored a potential sale to the French distiller over the proposal from Sazerac.
Sazerac’s latest $32 all-cash offer would have allowed Brown-Forman’s Class A shareholders to either take cash or roll their shares into the new company, the source added.
Brown-Forman and Sazerac did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
