By James Atkinson
Lion and Bacardi Limited have confirmed their intention to end their joint venture Bacardi Lion, effective at the end of March 2016.
Bacardi Lion managing director Denis Brown said the joint venture had provided a platform for Bacardi to grow its premium spirits business in Australia and Bacardi now has the opportunity to continue building its brands locally as a stand-alone business.
“We want to reassure our customers that it’s very much business as usual until 31 March 2016 and we will put in place a robust transition plan to manage the change and avoid any disruption at that time,” he said.
Lion Beer, Spirits & Wine managing director James Brindley said: “While Lion has supplied back office and logistics support to the joint venture, it has not been a core business focus for us. Exiting the Bacardi Lion joint venture will see Lion continue to focus on our core categories of beer, cider and wine.”