Bacardi Ltd. has held a minority stake in Patron, which was founded by John Paul DeJoria. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Patron’s top executives will remain in place. DeJoria, 73, will become “chairman emeritus” and focus on philanthropy.
“Adding Patron to the Bacardi portfolio creates a tremendous opportunity for the brand outside of the United States as Bacardi’s international distribution network will help grow Patron around the world, increasing scale in the U.S. and globally,” Mahesh Madhavan, Bacardi’s ceo, said in a written statement.
Patron is the industry’s premium tequila leader, with U.S. sales of $1.6 billion last year. Its prices range from $45 to limited-edition offerings costing thousands of dollars.
The transaction follows the sale of Casamigos tequila to Diageo and Pernod Ricard’s purchase of the 16% of Avion tequila it didn’t already own.