| Type | Société Anonyme |
|---|---|
| Traded as | Euronext: RI |
| Industry | Drinks |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Key people | Patrick Ricard (Chairman), Pierre Pringuet (CEO) |
| Products | Distilled beverages |
| Revenue | €7.643 billion (2010/2011)[1] |
| Operating income | €1.852 billion (2010/2011)[1] |
| Profit | €1.045 billion (2010/2011)[1] |
| Total assets | €25.70 billion (June 2011)[1] |
| Total equity | €9.474 billion (June 2011)[1] |
| Employees | 18,230 (June 2011)[1] |
| Website | www.pernod-ricard.com |
Pernod Ricard is a French company that produces distilled beverages. The company's eponymous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise-flavoured liqueurs and are often referred to simply as Pernod or Ricard. The company also produces several other types of pastis.
After the banning of absinthe, Pernod Ricard was created from the Pernod Fils company, which had produced absinthe. It is now a worldwide conglomerate.
Pernod Ricard owns the distilled beverage division of the former corporation Seagram, along with many other holdings. In 2005, the company acquired a British-based competitor, Allied Domecq plc.
In 2008, Pernod Ricard announced its acquisition of Swedish-based V&S Group, which produces Absolut Vodka.
Contents |
Pernod Ricard owns a wide variety of beverage brands worldwide. These include:
|
As of 26 July 2005, the brand portfolio expanded to include former Allied Domecq products:
|
|
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:
|
|
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.
According to the NGO Alliance anticorrida, Pernod Ricard is the major funder of bullfighting in France, financing bullfighting clubs and sponsoring corridas despite the opposition of a majority of French citizens to blood sports.[4].
The Havana Club brand was lost to its founders, the Arechabala family, due to the 1959 Cuban Revolution and an ongoing legal battle opposes the claimed trademark owners in the US to the joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban State-owned company Corporación Cuba Ron. The Havana Club trademark remains unchallenged elsewhere in the world, having been validated by court decisions in a number of other countries than the US.[5][6][7].
The pastis beverages produced by Pernod Ricard will become cloudy when diluted because they are aniseed-based. These beverages contain oils called terpenes, which are soluble in an aqueous solution that contains 30% ethanol or more by volume. When the solution is diluted to below 30% ethanol, the terpenes become insoluble; this causes a cloudy precipitate to form in the solution. The same chemistry causes absinthe to go cloudy when diluted.