William Grant pursuing Cooley

[DavidH]

It's a terrible thing to point to my own website but I have no link to the original Sunday Times article. So... William Grant eyes up Cooley.

I can see why WG would consider this option but I can't say I like the idea. Cooley is the guarantor of diversity in Irish whiskey manufacture. Their independence has been great for the craft of distilling in this country.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

No David, please feel free to link away. It is all whiskey news and that is why we are here.

Thanks for posting this is very significant news.

I am totally with you on you sentiments in regard to Cooley losing their independence. It would be sensible for Grants to peruse this line of enquiry but it would not be a welcome venture if they were to acquire controlling ownership of Cooley. Let's hope that Cooley are able to the right deal

[TheWhiskeyBro]

Well the interesting thing is that Cooley are majority owned by the Teeling family afaik.

Ever since 2001 they have pursued a policy of remaining independent.

The most I could see is a joint venture, I think David's reference to bringing the Tullamore stills back into operation (which lie dormant in Kilbeggan) would be an interesting side development.

This could be a good link up, i.e. Cooley supply spirit to Grants and in turn Grants can bring their distribution muscle to bear. However I agree remaining independent would be important for the Teelings. However John himself is no stranger to doing a deal if the economics are right.

It is something that Cooley looked at in the past with Burns Stewart of Scotland.

It shows how seriously Grants are taking their entry into the Irish market via their Tullamore acquistion.

[Fionnán]

i agree with all of you that it would be a shame to see cooley become a wing of WG after all the fuss in the 80s/90s with IDL's proposed buy-out and cooley's rather admirable fixation on independence, craft, and self-control. That being said, the possibility of some co-operative agreement employing the tullamore stills would be fantastic. The notion of Cooley gainig access to WG's distribution machine would be an excellent resource for cooley, i'm sure. How much of an investment, out of curiosity, would it take to get those things hooked up and running in a productive sense?

[JohnM]

http://www.just-drinks.com/news/cooley- ... 02075.aspx