Bloomberg reported on 24 January that Diageo is currently reviewing its portfolio of brands, and named Guinness and Moët Hennessy as assets it might be willing to divest from.
However, the drinks giant has since played down the report.
“We note the recent media speculation around the Guinness brand and our stake in Moët Hennessy and we can confirm that we have no intention to sell either,” a spokesperson for Diageo said.
“We will next update the market with Interim results on 4 February 2025 and we look forward to hosting our Guinness investor and analyst day on 19/20 May 2025.”
According to Bloomberg, Guinness would likely be valued at more than $10bn were it put on the market due its revitalised popularity in recent years. There was a much talked about Guinness shortage in the run up to Christmas following a spike in demand, which caused Diageo to manage distribution of the stout across Britain.
Diageo is also said to be weighing the sale of Cîroc vodka, while it has sold a series of brands in the past year including Guinness Nigeria, Safari and Cacique. The firm was also forced to abandon its efforts to sell Pimm’s after a deal failed to materialise.
These moves come after Diageo reported a $304m or 4.8% year-on-year decline in organic operating profit during its 2024 fiscal year. This was largely down to major losses in its Latin America and Caribbean region, whereas sales rose in Europe by 2.8%.
Other moves made over the past year include the closure of the Chase Distillery in Hereford, with production of Chase brand vodka and gin shifting to a separate facility in Scotland, and the planned demolition of the 196-year-old Talisker at Carbost distillery. Plans are in place to redevelop on the site in order to expand existing capacity.
