Tycoon Lucio Co’s The Keepers Holdings Inc. (Keepers), the largest imported liquor distributor in the Philippines, is venturing into the production and export of premium local spirits through the acquisition of a 50-percent stake in the maker of Sula liqueur for ₱40 million.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said its board of directors has approved the acquisition of up to 50 percent of the subscribed and outstanding shares of Cervia Global Trading Inc.

Cervia Global Trading is a domestic corporation and the company behind the world-class Filipino liqueur brand SULÀ. It is dedicated to creating and producing premium local alcoholic beverages—particularly liqueurs—using Philippine-grown raw materials for distribution in both domestic and international markets.

“The acquisition of a 50-percent stake in Cervia Global Trading Inc. gives The Keepers Holdings Inc. a strategic entry point into the premium local spirits market, while also positioning the company for growth in international markets,” Keepers said.

It added that it will be acquiring a total of 125,000 shares of Cervia Global at ₱320 per share and will be paying in cash to Caesar R. Certeza, Mark Daniel L. Rivera, Vernon A. Carandang, and Margherita Y. Rauto in exchange of their respective shareholdings.

The amount of consideration, to be made in a single payment, was based on the revenue potential of Cervia Global Trading.

“Keepers clearly sees this as an opportunity to leverage premium local spirits into an international product with attractive growth potential. It will also further expand and diversify the company’s beverage portfolio,” said Chinabank Capital Corporation Managing Director Juan Paolo Colet.

Philstocks Financial Research Manager Japhet Tantiangco said “The local market plunged this Wednesday as investors dealt with the rise in the US’ inflation last June and its implications on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. The US latest inflation print may cause the Fed to prolong their pause in their policy rate adjustments.”

“Investors also digested the US’ latest tariff rate on Indonesia at 19 percent which is somehow more competitive than the Philippines’ 20 percent.

“Finally, the Peso’s continuous depreciation against the US Dollar weighed on the market,” he noted.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the PSEi declined for the second straight trading day, lower for the fourth day in five trading days after reports of some block sales; also after the US dollar/peso closed at 57.085; and after the slightly higher US CPI data partly due to effects of higher US import tariffs in recent months.

Last May, The Keepers disclosed that it is going directly to consumers to sell its products by putting up a chain of its own liquor stores.

The firm disclosed that it will incorporate a subsidiary to establish a chain of retail outlets dedicated for alcoholic beverages and related products.

Currently, the firm sells its products across all fringes of the Philippine archipelago through an extensive distribution ecosystem with over 200 distribution partners.

It also has a synergistic partnership with parent company Cosco Capital Inc.’s grocery retail network consisting of 511 Puregold Price Club stores and 29 S&R Membership Shopping Club branches.

This comes as Keepers is benefitting from growing market preference for higher-priced imported brands amid recovering consumer confidence.

“The spirits segment is undergoing shifts in consumer preferences in favor of higher-quality, premium offerings—a phenomenon that the group has and will continue to capitalize on to gain ground against local competitors,” the company said in a briefing to stock analysts.

It noted that premiumization is fueled by consumers’ high affinity for imported products, growing sophistication and favoring quality over quantity, growth in disposable income, and the emerging middle class.

Keepers said that this year, the market share of higher-priced liquor will grow to 36 percent from 25 percent in 2021 while the share of low-priced products (below ₱100 a bottle) will contract to 64 percent in 2025 from 75 percent.

For over 20 years, The Keepers Holdings Group has brought and served Filipino consumers the leading international brands of spirits, wines and specialty beverages into the Philippines.