Hood River Distillers Sells Pendleton Whisky Brand for $205 Million

Hood River Distillers of Hood River, Oregon has agreed to sell their 14 year old Pendleton Whisky brand to Becle, S.A.B. de C.V., parent company to Jose Cuervo. Becle is best known in the United States by its operating subsidiary, Proximo Spirits, Inc.

Pendleton Whisky was launched in 2003 and has since grown its annual sales volume to more than 250,000 nine-liter case equivalents. In addition to the core Pendleton Whisky expression, the acquisition includes the Pendleton Midnight, Pendleton 1910 and Pendleton Directors’ Reserve expressions.  Becle has agreed to pay $205 million for these assets.

Hood River Distillers – Pendleton Blended Canadian Whisky.

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Pendleton Whisky is an oak barrel-aged whisky distilled in Canada. Pendleton is shipped to Hood River Distillers for bottling using glacier-fed spring water from Mt. Hood (Oregon’s highest peak).

“We are very pleased with how the Pendleton Whisky brand has grown over the past fifteen years,” said Ronald R. Dodge, CEO of Hood River Distillers. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the brand. Proximo has the resources, the market reach and the commitment to turn our dreams for the Pendleton brand into reality. While this represents a major shift for Hood River Distillers, we are extremely proud of our team for growing Pendleton to where it is today and helping us achieve this outstanding accomplishment.”

Mark Teasdale, President & Chief Executive Officer of Proximo Spirits, Inc., the United States operating subsidiary of Becle, stated “We are excited to announce this transaction. The Pendleton Whisky brand will fill an important strategic position in our portfolio, as we add a fast-growing, super premium whisky to complement our broad selection of international spirits. Following the successful acquisitions of Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Stranahan’s Rocky Mountain Single Malt Whiskey, and the rapid growth of Tincup American Whiskey, we view Pendleton as the next step in developing our world-class portfolio of whiskies. We expect to build on the remarkable success of Pendleton using our resources as a full-service, global spirits company.”

Hood River Distillers will continue to bottle the Pendleton portfolio of products for Proximo and will also continue to operate with its remaining brands. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2018, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Becle, S.A.B. de C.V. is the world’s largest producer of tequila. Its portfolio of over 30 spirit brands, some of them owned, some of them agency brands distributed only in Mexico, has been developed throughout the years to participate in key categories with high growth perspective, serving the world’s most relevant alcoholic beverage markets and attending key consumer preferences and tendencies. The portfolio’s brands include Jose Cuervo®, combined with complementary acquisitions such as Three Olives®, Hangar 1®, Stranahan’s®, Bushmills® or Boodles®. The company has also developed brands such as 1800®, Maestro Tequilero®, Maestro Tequilero® Dobel®, Centenario®, Kraken®, Jose Cuervo® Margaritas and B:oost®.

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