Coca-Cola HBC AG, the drinks bottle manufacturer, said it acquired Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B) Finland Oy, the owner of Finlandia vodka.
A statement said the FTSE 100 company agreed to pay US$220mln and the deal is expected to complete in the second half of this year.
The purchase will be completed by Coca-Cola HBC’s subsidiary, CC Beverages Holdings.
Coco-Cola HBC said the transaction represents a “unique opportunity” to enhance its journey towards becoming a 24/7 beverage partner.
“We view this as an attractive investment and a natural evolution of our role as one of Finlandia's distribution partners, further attesting to the strength of our time-tested and wide-ranging partnership with Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B),” said Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC.
Finlandia was established in 1970 and is the leading brand of vodka in Central and Eastern Europe, with annual volumes of 2.7mln 9 litre cases.