Sweet to be right, and by this we’re referring to our deduction that Rémy Martin (Remy Cointreau), only had an interest in Larsen Cognac for its stocks of eaux-de-vie. The Finnish liquor maker bought Larsen S.A. and its brand for around 40 million euros ($53 million).

And that they obviously had less interest now in leading the Larsen brand. But was there a carve out?

larsen-cognac

It now appears that Remy Cointreau has reached an agreement to hand Larsen to the Nordic Group, Altia.  The deal hands all aspects of the brand, including the industrial and commercial assets and the necessary inventories to continue operating Larsen as a going concern. Altia is the leading Finnish spirits corporation in the Nordic and Baltic countries, where Larsen traditionally positioned itself as a key Cognac brand.

So everyone is happy – apparently.  Altia get a great Cognac brand; one with a history reaching back to 1926 and a unique range of products. Remy, on the other hand, acquire some interesting cognacs in the stock from the cellars of Larsen.
In any case Rémy Martin could not really use all of the acquired Larsen stock anyhow because some of these eaux-de-vie weren’t Fine Champagne –  and Rémy only makes Cognac from Fine Champagne.

However, in times such as these when old stocks really are at a premium, then it seems a shrewd move by the cognac giant. It seems that all is fair in love, war and cognac. And an interesting future for the Viking Cognac with Altia.

Read more about Larsen and Remy Martin Cognac.

Sources:  fortmilltimes.com, drinksbusiness, Reuters

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Jacki has been with Cognac Expert from virtually the beginning. She's the senior editor of the blog, and has spent much of her life living in rural France. Today she's based back in the UK, where she splits her working life between writing for Cognac Expert and working as a Paramedic at a large regional hospital.

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