LVMH, the French luxury goods group, firmly denied on Wednesday that it was in talks to sell its 66 per cent stake in Moët Hennessy to Diageo, the world's biggest drinks company. Diageo, which owns 34 per cent of Moët Hennessy, was reported to be considering a 12 billion (£10.7 billion) bid for the rest of group, which includes the Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot champagnes and Hennessy cognac. A spokesman for LVMH, which also controls the Louis Vuitton handbags and Christian Dior perfumes businesses, said: “LVMH formally denies British press reports that it is negotiating the sale of Moët Hennessy.” Diageo, the maker of Guinness and Smirnoff vodka, declined to comment, but said that it had no plans to issue a formal statement. Buying the wine and spirits division of LVMH would fit with the stated aim of Paul Walsh, Diageo's chief executive, to fill gaps in its portfolio of premium spirits and wine brands. Wine and spirits are a large part of LVMH, which was built by Bernard Arnault, France's richest man, who owns 47 per cent of the company, although they are not regarded as a long-term core holding. Its wines and spirits unit sales declined by 3 per cent in 2017 to 3.126 billion, as demand fell in the United States and Japan. LVMH reported a 22 per cent fall in like-for-like wine and spirit revenues to 540 million in the first quarter of this year. Analysts said that, despite the denial, a deal between the two groups made sense in the longer term. One said: “Arnault doesn't need the money at the moment and is unlikely to sell in the middle of a downturn, but a sale of Moët Hennessy is still likely down the line, and Diageo is the only buyer.” The analyst said that LVMH, which also owns the Marc Jacobs and Givenchy fashion houses, would sell the drinks business if any other top fashion brands became available and it needed to raise funds to buy them. The talk comes amid renewed interest in deals in the drinks industry. Pernod Ricard, the French group that acquired Absolut vodka last year, has sold Wild Turkey, its bourbon whiskey, to Campari, of Italy, for $575 million (£397 million). Brown-Forman, the American owner of Jack Daniel's, is said to be in merger talks with Bacardi. Analysts have suggested that Diageo could also be interested in some of Brown-Forman's brands. One said: “The mooted deal with LVMH would provide an excellent smokescreen for a move on Jack Daniel's.” ，英语毕业论文，英语论文范文 |
