This article was published on Feb. 7, 2025, at 1:36 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Drink International, which holds the rights to the domestic whiskey brand Imperial, is pursuing the acquisition of the Imperial brand. This is interpreted as an effort to acquire the company holding the brand, Pernod Ricard Korea Imperial (PRKI), for Imperial rebranding.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 7th, Drink International is confirmed to be pursuing fundraising of 50 billion won for the acquisition of PRKI. The French beverage company Pernod Ricard transferred the sales rights of Imperial to Drink International in 2019, but it still retains the Imperial brand.
Drink International expects to save on royalty fees that it pays annually. It is reported that Drink International pays fees amounting to the high 10% of Imperial's total annual revenue to PRKI.
After the acquisition, it seems likely that they will revamp Imperial and aggressively expand sales. Until now, rebranding has been limited since they only held the sales rights. Imperial maintains a three-strong domestic whiskey brand system along with Windsor and Golden Blue.
Pernod Ricard, which holds the Scotch whiskey Ballantine's, established Pernod Ricard Korea (PRK) in 1992 to enter the domestic market. In 1999, it acquired the former Jinro Ballantine's and established another corporation, PRKI. Since then, PRK has been responsible for imported whiskey, while PRKI has taken charge of the local brand Imperial.
Kim Il-joo, chairman of Drink International, founded the company in 2019. He entered the liquor industry in 1983 and worked in marketing at Doosan Chigi, Jinro Ballantine's (now PRKI), and others. He served as the CEO of Golden Blue in 2011 and as CEO of William Grant & Sons Korea in 2013.
Regarding the acquisition, a representative of Drink International said, "It's hard to comment."