French wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard will stop distributing Stolichnaya vodka as part of an agreement with federal authorities related to its takeover of the Swedish maker of another top selling vodka, Absolut.
The Federal Trade Commission said in a statement Thursday that Pernod's proposed takeover of Swedish spirits company Vin & Spirit, worth nearly $9 billion, would be anticompetitive since it places the two most popular brands of "super-premium" vodka sold nationwide under one maker.
Stolichnaya is made by Spirits International BV, but distributed by Pernod.
The FTC issued a complaint saying the takeover would violate U.S. antitrust laws and ordered Pernod to end its distribution agreement with Stolichnaya's owners within six months of acquiring V&S and the Absolut brand.
Pernod agreed to the order, the FTC said.
The takeover of Vin & Spirit, which is owned by the Swedish government, was announced in late March.
The order also addressed the FTC's competitive concerns in four other distilled spirits markets. By purchasing V&S, Pernod will take that company's role in Future Brands LLC, which is a distribution joint venture between V&S and Fortune Brands Inc.
Fortune's subsidiary, Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., owns brands that compete with Pernod brands in four markets _ Cognac, domestic cordials, coffee liqueur and popular gin.
The FTC said Pernod's participation in the venture would give it access to competitive information about the competing Beam Global brands. The consent order imposes firewalls to prevent Pernod from getting and using competitively sensitive information about the Beam Global brands.
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