US-based beverages company Accel Brands has sold 70% stake in Village Tea Company Distribution to Affinity Beverage Group, which is led by senior management of Village Tea.
Village Tea sources teas with distinctive flvaour combinations and packages them under the Village Tea Company brand name in several sustainable ways.
The move is a result of the company's streamlining efforts. Accel Brands will now focus on its growing wine and spirits business STI Signature Spirits Group. Currently, STI makes, operates and manages many spirits brands such as Tiny's Tequila and Copa Imperial Tequila.
With the streamlining of the business, the company hopes to help STI capitalize on the overall growth of the wine and spirits sector by focusing on opportunities in the marketplace to boost sales and distribution of its brands while also creating pathway for the introduction of new brands.
Accel also plans to use the platform that STI developed over the years to identify similar acquisition targets that can complement STI's portfolio and help create opportunities to generate additional revenue.
In line with the renewed strategy, the company's chairman and CEO Gilbert Steedley will step down effective 15 November. Janon Costley, the co-founder of subsidiary STI, will be the new CEO and also chair the company to lead Accel's new growth strategy.
In the past few months, the spirits and wine industry has seen a lot of mergers and acquisitions. The latest merger which is anticipated to close in early next year is the Anheuser-Busch InBev-SABMiller merger, which is give rise to an entity that would produce one out of every three beers globally and would be one of the sixth largest acquisitions in history and the biggest deal in a year.
The combined entity will have complementary geographical footprints and brands with operation in every major beer market, including strong growth markets of Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.
