C&C agrees deal to buy Vermont Hard Cider Company for €233m

C&C Group has reached agreement to buy the Vermont Hard Cider Company for $305 million (€233m) — a deal which, when completed, will give the Dublin-headquartered drinks group control of the two biggest cider producers in the US.

The Middlebury, Vermont-based company produces Woodchuck, the leading cider brand in the US, with nationwide availability. Subject to anti-trust clearance, it is expected that the deal will conclude by the end of C&C’s current financial year, which runs to the end of next February.

It will mark a significant strengthening of the Irish group’s presence in the US cider market. Around this time last year, C&C bought the Hornsby’s cider brand for €20m from Californian wine business E&J Gallo.