US-based spirits company Sazerac has acquired Michael Collins Irish whiskey brand that was earlier owned by Sidney Frank Importing Company (SFIC).
Sazerac has bought the intellectual property rights related to the whiskey including the global trademark and brand rights from Eagle Sellers Rep, LLC.
Sidney Frank Importing Company was the earlier owner of Michael Collins brands until recently it sold the brand to Eagle Sellers.
With this acquisition, Michael Collins joins the Sazerac's Irish whiskey portfolio.
Sazerac president & CEO Mark Brown was quoted by Just Drinks as saying: "We are very excited to have acquired the intellectual property rights to the Michael Collins name and look forward to moving the brand ahead quickly with our healthy stocks of aged Irish whiskey.
"The robust growth of the Irish whiskey category fits nicely with our dynamically-growing Bourbon portfolio."
Michael Collins Irish whiskey was launched in 2005 in the US and was named after Irish revolutionary of the early-20th Century. The drink is sourced from several distilleries in Ireland, one of which is the Cooley Distillery, reported Just Drinks.
In June, SFIC withdrew a $100m lawsuit against Beam Suntory with regard to a supply contract for Michael Collins brand.
According to the lawsuit, SFIC claimed that Beam Suntory had terminated the supply contract wrongfully between the Sazerac's Irish whiskey brand and the Cooley Distillery.
Beam Suntory had purchased the Cooley Distillery for $95m in 2011 and had decided to end third party supply once the long term contracts had come to expire.
Sidney Frank's allegations were dismissed by a US federal court in February 2014.
