Four Pillars Gin sold to XXXX’s Japanese owner

afr.com:

Brewing giant Lion Group will take full ownership of Four Pillars Gin as it advances its ambitions in the premium spirits category.

Lion – which is behind names such as XXXX, Furphy, Little Creatures and Tooheys beer – is owned by Japanese giant Kirin, and is believed to have purchased the 50 per cent stake it doesn’t own for about $50 million. It initially acquired half the gin business in 2019 for an estimated $40 million.

Lion Spirits GM Ed Stening, Four Pillars co-founder Cameron Mackenzie, and Lion Group CEO Sam Fischer say the premium spirit category is growing. 

The acquisition includes ownership of its world-class distillery in Healesville, and all domestic and international sales and marketing of the brand. Four Pillars joins the Lion-owned Vanguard Luxury Brands distribution business.

Four Pillars was founded in 2013 by Stuart Gregor, Matt Jones and Cameron Mackenzie in outer Melbourne. Mr Gregor will remain with the business until September 1, while chief distiller Mr Mackenzie and brand and strategy director Mr Jones will stay in their roles. The distiller is on track to sell 1.2 million bottles of gin this year – more than double what it sold in 2019.

The boss of Australia’s second-largest brewing company, Sam Fisher, sees premium spirits as a source of future growth, at a time when beer sales are under pressure.

“We’re delighted to have really extended our partnership to ownership,” he said. “We’ve seen spirits as a category growing for many years. We think that that will continue to grow, and we think premium Australian spirits will continue to be a relevant category within that. We’ve also got New Zealand, we’ve got the US, we’ve got Japan, and we’ve got global travel retail as big paths for growth.”

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