Cooley Distillery acquired for €73m as Beam Inc aims to take on Jameson

IRELAND’S last remaining independent whiskey producer, the Cooley Distillery, has been acquired by US spirits giant Beam Inc — the producer of the Jim Beam bourbon brand — for nearly €73 million.

The deal marks the Illinois-based company’s first foray into Irish whiskey, which is undergoing a renaissance in the US and is one of the global spirits sector’s fastest-growing niches.

Beam will be looking to use the $95m (€72.8m) acquisition to directly take on Jameson in the US market via Cooley’s main brand, Kilbeggan. However, it is also acquiring the Greenore, Tyrconnell and Connemara whiskey brands from the firm.

Beam chief executive and president Matt Shattock called the deal “a unique and compelling high-return opportunity to enter one of the industry’s highest growth categories”.

“We see the opportunity to leverage our combination of scale with agility to further build consumer demand for Cooley’s award-winning brands, and to expand distribution off a relatively small base in key export markets for Irish whiskey across north America and Europe.”

The New York Stock Exchange-listed Beam already has leading brands in a number of spirits categories including Teacher’s scotch whisky, Maker’s Mark bourbon, Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry, Gilbey’s gin, and Courvoisier cognac.

The main beneficiaries of the deal on the Cooley side include executives John Teeling, Willie McArthur, David Hynes and Jack Teeling, as well as a number of long-serving staff members.

Its founder and chairman John Teeling said: “Beam understands whiskey. They have the culture, experience and global strength to enable the Cooley portfolio of brands to reach their potential in the fast-growing Irish whiskey category.

“Through Beam, our brands — built on quality — will be introduced to a host of new consumers.”