Constellation Brands Completes Cider Sale

By Andrew Starke

Constellation Brands has completed the sale of its Gaymer Cider Company to the C&C Group of Dublin, Ireland for about A$80 million.

The C&C Group is best known for producing Magners cider and the lager brand Tennents.

Total cider volumes fell by 15 percent in the UK over the past three months with C&C admitting that business conditions in its core cider markets were ‘challenging’.

The C&C Group’s core brand historically was Bulmers Cider but it only held the rights to this brand in the Republic of Ireland.

For this reason the company had to develop a new brand to launch outside its home market.

The Magners brand was introduced for this purpose in 1999.

C&C acquired the Tennents brand and Wellpark Brewery in August 2009 from Inbev.