Diageo has completed its second brand sale in the span of a month, announcing today it has offloaded Venezuelan rum label Pampero to Italian food and spirits company Gruppo Montenegro.
Pampero is getting booted from the rum portfolio 18 months after Diageo purchased super-premium dark rum label Don Papa Rum for an initial fee of $281.5 million.
The sale comes less than one month after Diageo offloaded fruit-flavored liqueur brand Safari to Portuguese beverage group Casa Redondo earlier in July, and follows news of the spirits giant exploring the sale of British summer staple Pimm’s in February. Safari is primarily sold in Benelux, Portugal and Turkey, and Casa Redondo will now take it into its next chapter of growth across Europe, according to a statement from Diageo at the time.
Last month, Diageo’s sale of Guinness Nigeria marked its third brand exit in the African beer market in recent years, this one in the wake of a cost-of-living crisis shaking the West African nation.
Diageo’s shares are at their lowest since October 2020, and recent rumors began swirling after a single broker identified the spirits giant as ripe for a takeover. In the second half of 2023, the group’s sales volumes slumped by 9%, in part due to a major slowdown in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The rum sale will allow Diageo to focus on “core areas of strength” in its portfolio, said John Kennedy, Diageo Europe president, in a statement emphasizing the company’s “disciplined and strategic approach to capital allocation.” In a previous statement, he cited whiskey and tequila as areas of strength.
For Gruppo Montenegro, bringing in the market leader for rum in Italy, which “boasts strong positions in several continental markets,” represents a new phase following the appointment of the group’s new CEO, Sergio Fava, said Paul Douek, Gruppo Montenegro’s executive board member, in a statement. Fava took charge of the company known for Italian bar staples like Amaro Montenegro and Grappa Libarna, in July 2023, taking over from Marco Ferrari who left to lead as CEO at Ilva Saronno Group.
“Looking forward, Pampero is well positioned for its next chapter of growth,” said Kennedy. “We are confident that Gruppo Montenegro is the right owner to maintain and build on Pampero’s authenticity and its leading position in Italy and across continental Europe.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.