The sale of an 8.5% shareholding in Fever-Tree is part of a broader partnership between the two firms, with Molson Coors now exclusively responsible for the sales, distribution and production of the Fever-Tree brand in the US.
As part of this new arrangement, Molson Coors will utilise its national network of distributors and customers across on-trade and off-trade.
It has also committed to deploying a “substantial incremental marketing fund” across the initial period of the partnership to drive further brand and category awareness.
The proceeds of the sale will be returned to shareholders via a share buyback programme that is set to begin next month, with Fever-Tree valued at 654.2p per share based on its 10-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).
In addition to tonic, Fever-Tree produces a wide range of premium soft drinks including soda water and ginger ale.
Big step
Tim Warrillow, co-founder and CEO of Fever-Tree, described the partnership as a transformational step for the brand, which was founded in London in 2004 by Warrillow and gin industry expert Charles Rolls.
“Thanks to the superb work of our US team, we have seen Fever-Tree become the number one brand in both the tonic and ginger beer categories, a remarkable achievement which has redefined the US mixer category amongst consumers and customers alike,” Warrillow said.
“But what is so exciting is that as the Fever-Tree brand has grown in the US, so has the opportunity ahead of us, reflecting the increasing number of categories and occasions that our products are relevant to.”
Meanwhile, Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley explained that Fever-Tree is the largest non-alcoholic brand to join its portfolio, which includes Carling, Coors, Foster’s and Molson.
“Our strategic partnership with Fever-Tree in the US is a meaningful step in Molson Coors' journey to becoming a total-beverage company with a winning portfolio of drinks for a wide variety of consumer occasions,” Hattersley added.
“Our distributors and customers have been asking for a brand just like Fever-Tree from us, and by leveraging the scale, strong relationships and expertise of our team at Molson Coors. I’m confident in the road ahead for Fever-Tree as part of Molson Coors' growing set of non-alcoholic offerings in the US.”
