23 - 29 March 2000

Farsons to have second spirits subsidiary

by Anthony Manduca

The announcement by Simonds Farsons Cisk plc that it had acquired the shareholding of Anthony Caruana & Sons Limited, a well established wines and spirits import company, means that the Farsons Group will now own a second wines and spirits subsidiary. Farsons already has its own import beverage subsidiary, Wands Limited, which represents a number of established brands such as Famous Grouse, Ballantine's, Bacardi, Remy Martin, Guinness, Cointreau and Campari.

As a result of the acquisition of Anthony Caruana & Sons, the Farsons Group has added a number of renowned brands to its portfolio such as Perrier, Averna and Bulmers Cider. Anthony Caruana & Sons had branched off from Captain A Caruana Ltd., one of Malta's longest established wines and sprits import companies, in the 1980s, and took with it the representation of most the top brands. However, by the late 1990s, as a result of a number of international mergers and acquisitions, Anthony Caruana & Sons lost the representation of many brands to rival import companies and was left with a reduced number of exclusive representations. In the circumstances selling out to a company such as Farsons seemed the best option to pursue. Although Anthony Caruana & Sons Ltd is well established in the importation and distribution of beverages it definitely stands to benefit from the synergies offered by Farsons.

The reason why Farsons decided to maintain Anthony Caruana & Sons as a separate subsidiary and not simply add the newly acquired brands to Wands Limited has not emerged, at least not officially. In fact Farsons made it clear in a statement that Anthony Caruana & Sons Ltd will continue to operate from its premises in Qormi and will be managed separately from the Group's wines and spirits subsidiary, Wands Limited.

Mr Anthony Caruana, who was chairman of Anthony Caruana & Sons, will continue to serve on the company's new board of directors. The other directors are to come from Farsons and Wands. Mr Christopher Caruana, Anthony Caruana's son, who was the company's sales director, and who has 24 years of experience in the wines and spirits business, has been appointed the company's new general manager.

Commenting on the acquisition, Louis A Farrugia, chief executive of the Farsons Group, said that this move is in line with the Group's strategy of offering quality beverage brands to its consumers.

"These changes shall bring about greater focus and additional support on the market to the prestigious brands, which have been added to Farsons' portfolio. Undoubtedly they will further increase the positive attitude which these brands already enjoy on the Maltese market," said Mr Farrugia.

The Farsons Group of Companies is composed of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, Wands Limited, Food Chain Holdings (franchise holder for Pizza Hut, Burger King and KFC) and Eco Pure Limited. The Farsons Group has interests in other associated companies.