Hitejinro's acquisition of Windsor whiskey on the rocks

The proposed acquisition of the whiskey brand Windsor by Korea's largest liquor producer Hitejinro has ultimately been called off.

Windsor's whiskey products [WINDSOR GLOBAL]

The proposed acquisition of the whiskey brand Windsor by Korea's largest liquor producer Hitejinro has ultimately been called off.

The business rights for Windsor Global have been transferred to Pine Tree Investment & Management, a domestic alternative investment firm, reportedly for around 200 billion won ($150.5 million).

"While we conducted a thorough assessment of the acquisition of Windsor Global, we have ultimately decided not to proceed with the acquisition," Hitejinro said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The company had confirmed it had been considering the acquisition the previous month but chose not to go ahead with it without citing specific reasons.

Windsor Global holds the domestic business rights of the whiskey brand Windsor, which ranks among the top three alongside Golden Blue and Imperial.

Windsor Global is a subsidiary of Diageo which owns the Windsor business and associated intellectual property.

Whiskey, once associated primarily with an older demographic, has experienced increased popularity among the younger generations in Korea, driving the recent overall growth in the country's whiskey market.

"This transaction reflects Diageo’s disciplined approach to capital allocation and further highlights our continued track-record of active portfolio management," John O'Keeffe, Diageo's president of Asia Pacific, global travel and India, said according to a press release on Oct. 27. "Our position in the market remains strong as ‘premiumisation’ trends persist and consumer interest in categories like international whiskey continues to grow."

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]