LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. will sell Finlandia, its Finnish-made vodka brand, to a European beverage company for $220 million, the companies announced Monday.
Brown-Forman had signaled dwindling prospects for Finlandia following the company's suspension of operations in Russia, which the company said was a "key market" for the vodka brand.
The deal means Brown-Forman, known for brown spirits such as its best-selling Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, is exiting vodka altogether. The company declined to say whether it plans to reenter the category.
The buyer is Coca-Cola HBC, a Switzerland-based bottler and distributor of beverages from the Coca-Cola Co. and other suppliers, whose markets are primarily Italy and Greece but also include Russia and Ukraine.
Brown-Forman sold 2.7 million cases of Finlandia during its 2023 fiscal year, about the same as the previous year. Finlandia makes up about 5% of the company's sales by volume.
Following the Russian invasion, Brown-Forman wrote off most of the value it had ascribed to the Finlandia brand, taking accounting charges totaling $148 million in 2022 and 2023, according to securities filings.
As of April 30, the company carried Finlandia at only $91 million its books, according to filings.
Asked if the write-offs were aggressive given the $220 million sale announced Monday, a Brown-Forman spokeswoman declined to comment.
Brown-Forman acquired Finlandia in stages between 2000-04, according to a press release. The brand "played an important role in the global growth" of the company, CEO Lawson Whiting said in the release.
"We believe Coca-Cola HBC is well-suited to support Finlandia's future growth and look forward to watching the continued evolution of the brand in their capable hands," Whiting said.
