Four Roses Is on the Selling Block For $1 Billion, According to New Report

Japan's Kirin Holdings has put its Four Roses Bourbon brand up for sale, aiming to raise $1 billion, according to Financial Times, which cited people familiar with the matter. The report said Kirin has enlisted UBS to find a buyer for the storied brand, with initial bids expected as soon as November. Kirin hasn't commented on the report.

According to Impact Databank, Four Roses had a U.S. volume of 425,000 cases last year, out of 1 million cases in global sales. The brand was roughly flat in volume terms in control states through the first half of this year. Four Roses ranks eighth by volume among all Bourbon brands worldwide.

At the start of the 2000s, the Four Roses brand was all but dead in the U.S., after years of being sold as a low-end blended whiskey while its bourbon production was for export markets only, mainly Japan. But in 2002, Kirin agreed to buy the brand and immediately restarted bourbon sales in the U.S., and today, Four Roses has a prominent reputation among bourbon lovers.

Kirin has more than $15 billion in annual sales across a variety of industries, with its drinks businesses also including its namesake beer brand, Fuji Japanese whisky, U.S. craft brewers New Belgium and Bell's, as well as the Distinguished Vineyards portfolio, which houses Argyle in Oregon, MacRostie in Sonoma County, Markham Vineyards and Textbook in Napa Valley, Lylo and Wither Hills in New Zealand, and Dough Wines.

According to the FT report, Four Roses generates about $70 million in adjusted earnings annually. The Kentucky bourbon label is expected to draw bids from strategically placed buyers, but some of the biggest spirits players globally could sit out the auction as they look to consolidate their portfolios amid challenging industry conditions.