Wouldn’t you just know it … the ink had hardly dried on the May edition of IM when liquor group Distell disclosed potential takeover talks with beer giant Heineken.So our company review on Distell is rendered a little less relevant by developments — except if talks flounder and prompt a revisiting of the company’s longer-term fundamentals. These are the joys of a monthly magazine.I’m intrigued to see how Remgro, which controls 31.4% of Distell, but has voting control, deals with Heineken’s advance. Distell forms part of what could become a substantial consumer products hub — Remgro has investments in RCL Foods and the Siqalo spreads business.Distell houses some of Remgro best brands including Fleur du Cap, Klipdrift, Hunter’s Dry, Amarula and Richelieu.Distell was in a bind. Its chance to be a genuine global player in the 1990s was probably hamstrung by a convoluted control structure involving the old KWV Holdings. That possibly took too long to unwind, so the chance of building a t...
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