Campari sells Cinzano and Frattina in €100m deal

Davide Campari Milano's new chief executive Simon Hunt has begun restructuring the company following a turbulent 18 months. The €100m sale of Cinzano and Frattina marks a strategic pivot as Campari looks to streamline operations and reduce debt. Davide Campari Milano’s new chief executive, Simon Hunt, has taken his first step to rejuvenate the company after what has been a dramatic 18 months. Campari is selling for €100m (£85.3m) the Cinzano vermouth brand, plus the Frattina grappa and sparkling wine business to the Italian Caffo Group 1915, which is best known for Vecchio Amaro del Capo bitters. Hunt said the sale marked “a key step in our strategy of streamlining our portfolio via disposals, allowing us to increase our commercial and marketing focus on our key core brands”.

Reducing debt and refocusing strategy

It will also go some way to reducing Campari’s heavy debt burden following the purchase of Courvoisier Cognac from Suntory for US$1.2 billion 18 months ago. Since then Campari has been beset by the same difficulties that have hit the major international drinks groups as consumers, especially in the US, drew in their horns in the face of inflation and President Trump’s threatened penal tariffs loom, especially over Cognac, which has also been heavily hit by China’s effective embargo of the spirit.

Leadership changes at a critical juncture

The Courvoisier deal was the final transaction undertaken in a 15-year spree by Bob Kunze-Concewitz. He was succeeded as Campari's CEO by Matteo Fantacchiotti, who resigned suddenly last September after just five months in the job. Hunt took over in January. Sebastiano Caffo, Caffo Group 1915’s CEO, said the deal “is an important step in our international growth journey….We have a long journey ahead in international markets. Cinzano will be pivotal to accelerate our international expansion, expanding immediately our footprint in more than 100 markets.”

Tough trading conditions for Campari

The problems facing Hunt became very apparent when Campari issued figures for the first three months of this year. They were substantially below analysts’ pessimistic estimates. Net revenue dropped to €666 million ($749 million). That was a rise of 0.3% but organically, sales were 4.2% lower than in 2024, largely due to the travails in the US, where they were 11% down on 2024. The US accounts for about a quarter of Campari’s global business. Pre-tax profit for the quarter fell by 26% to €106,7 million. In line with the spirits sector, Campari’s share price has fallen heavily in the past three years. After beginning to recover, it has now fallen by 40% in the past year. Having stood at almost €14 in early 2022, they rose marginally to €5.6 following news of the Cinzano sale.