On just-drinks last week:
- Remy Cointreau sealed the deal on Monday, announcing it will buy Bruichladdich Distillery for GBP58m (US$90.3m). That Bruichladdich was one of the last remaining independent distilleries on the Scottish island of Islay has upset the romantics, but Patience Gould soon put paid to that. Here's our round-up of the coverage generated by the purchase. The news also got a mention by Ian Buxton, as he considered the ongoing polarisation in the spirits sector.
- Heineken spent the week counting down the days until Fraser & Neave was to give them a call. The Netherlands brewer was kept hanging on, though, with F&N asking for more time to decide on Heineken's offer for Asia Pacific Breweries. Heineken will be sitting by its phone this Friday; so will we.
- In wine and spirits, LVMH credited the healthy appetite among consumers for luxury products as driving H1 growth at its Moët Hennessy division. The group warned, however that it will continue to "control" volumes to maintain the premium status of its products.
- just-drinks also provided extensive coverage of PepsiCo's H1 results, which saw net profits drop by 14% in the period. However the firm maintained that it is still "on-track" to achieve full-year targets. The firm shrugged off concerns in a conference call while anaylsts were impressed by its cross-promotional strategy in US convenience stores.