Sazerac, the maker of Buffalo Trace bourbon and Fireball, reportedly has made a takeover approach to Brown-Forman, the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey maker that's been in talks to be acquired by Pernod Ricard.
Why it matters: Booze brands are in decline, thanks to a sober-minded Gen Z, and are hoping the scale and synergies can reverse the skid. Particularly when a merger-friendly White House is in power.
Zoom in: The Sazerac Co. was founded in New Orleans and has distilleries in Kentucky and elsewhere. Brown-Forman is based in Louisville. Pernod Ricard is French.
Brown-Forman shares are up more than 20% over the past month, giving it a market cap of nearly $14 billion.
"The founding families of Sazerac, Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman all maintain stakes in their companies, with Sazerac remaining entirely family-owned," according to the WSJ, which first scooped the news.
Zoom out: William Goldring is the chairman of the Sazerac Co., which owns roughly 500 alcohol brands and a dozen distilleries around the world.
The New Orleanian is the third richest person in Louisiana, Forbes says. He's worth an estimated $6 billion.
DYK: The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans. Go deeper.
