The biggest drinks acquisitions of 2019

Diageo acquires ‘significant’ majority stake in Seedlip

Distill Ventures, an accelerator for small brands backed by Diageo, acquired a minority stake in non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip in June 2016.

Seedlip is the second brand Diageo has acquired through the accelerator programme, and the first that only produces non-alcoholic drinks. The acquisition also includes sister brand Æcorn Aperitifs, which launched earlier this year, a spokesperson told db at the time.

Ben Branson, Seedlip’s founder, said that both Diageo and Distill Ventures’ “shared belief in our vision has enabled us to build a business that’s ready for scale and I’m excited to continue working with Diageo to lead this movement”.