US spirits producer Sazerac has launched a takeover offer for Germany-based distiller Berentzen-Gruppe, with the two companies confirming a business combination agreement in a joint statement released today, 21 September. Sazerac, the owner of Buffalo Trace whiskey and Au vodka, has tabled a bid for all of Berentzen's shares worth €5.55 ($6.37) a piece, a 68% premium on Berentzen's three-month average share price before takeover talks were confirmed last week. The offer has secured the backing of Berentzen's executive and supervisory boards, with CEO Oliver Schwegmann and CFO Ralf Bruehoefner calling the bid an outstanding opportunity for the Frankfurt-listed group, its employees and shareholders, and recommending shareholders accept it. Berentzen, headquartered in Haselünne in north-west Germany, owns brands including Puschkin vodka, Tres Países rum and its namesake fruit-based spirits; in 2025 its revenue fell 10.4% to €162.9m and consolidated EBIT, adjusted for factors including exceptional effects, declined 19.8% to €8.5m, while in the first half of this year revenue dropped 11.1% to €71m as spirits sales remained weak. Sazerac CEO and president Jake Wenz said Berentzen would profit from the combination, which would enable the manufacture and distribution of spirits products for the whole of Europe and beyond with greater flexibility and pace, including brands from the Berentzen group, Sazerac and private-label ranges. The deal marks the latest M&A target for Sazerac, which is also home to brands including Southern Comfort and Fireball; in August it signed a deal to acquire Au, completed last week, while in July fellow US spirits group Brown-Forman said it had rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Sazerac as not actionable.
Berentzen Gruppe AG
Brown-Forman Corporation
After You Public Company Limited
