E-Malt.com News article: India: Pernod Ricard reportedly exploring an India IPO

Royal Stag owner Pernod Ricard is reportedly exploring an initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian business, The Spirits Business reported on April 23.

According to a report by Bloomberg this week, the French spirits giant has allegedly called in advisers regarding an IPO for its Indian unit, citing ‘people familiar with the matter’. The publication claims that Pernod has begun working with Goldman Sachs Group and legal firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas on the potential public listing.

When asked about the rumour, Pernod Ricard did not deny it but stated that the business “regularly assesses and evaluates its strategic opportunities and is continuously exploring options to create value for its shareholders, including optimising its capital structure”.

The statement continued: “This is a usual process in line with management’s mission of delivering value to shareholders, employees, clients and stakeholders.

“Pernod Ricard nonetheless highlights that, at this stage, no decision has been made regarding any particular action or involving any of these options.”

In February, Pernod declined to comment on an earlier report by Bloomberg that alleged it was in discussions with potential advisors over an IPO in India.

Last week, Pernod Ricard reported its third-quarter (Q3) sales, which grew organically by 0.1% to €1.94 billion (US$2.28bn).

The Indian market was one of the very few regions to post growth during Q3, rising by 6%.

For the nine months to March 2026, Indian sales were up by 11%. The business noted ‘strong growth’ from local brands, in particular for Indian whisky Blenders Pride, as well as the launch of the new Seagram’s Xclamation spirits range.

Furthermore, Pernod Ricard sold its Indian whisky Imperial Blue to Tilaknagar Industries in December 2025, in a deal worth €412.6 million (US$485m).

CEO Alexandre Ricard said at the time that the Imperial Blue divestment was a “strategic move to sharpen our focus on more profitable and faster growing brands in India, like in the rest of the world”.

Pernod Ricard’s Royal Stag was the second biggest-selling Indian whisky brand in 2024, followed by Imperial Blue, according to The Brand Champions 2025 report. Behind only McDowell’s (owned by Diageo’s United Spirits arm), Royal Stag sold 31m cases in 2024, an increase of 11.1% year on year.

Meanwhile, stablemate Blenders Pride was the fifth-largest at 10.1m cases in 2024 – up 5% on 2023.

Pernod Ricard is currently in talks with the US spirits company behind Jack Daniel’s, Brown-Forman, over a “merger of equals”.



25 April, 2026