French conglomerate LVMH has purchased a 50% stake in rapper-mogul Jay-Z’s Champagne house, Armand de Brignac.
Popularly known as ‘Ace of Spades’ for the vibrant metallic bottles that house the bubbles, the Champagne brand showed strong momentum in pre-pandemic times, selling over 500,000 bottles in 2019.
Jay-Z famously bought into Armand de Brignac in 2014, following a 2006 boycott of Cristal champagne after an executive at that brand made disparaging remarks about rap consumers.
Made at a French winemaking house with roots in the 1600s, Armand de Brignac has been the bubbly of choice for some sports championship celebrations in the US and won accolades at international taste testing competitions.
In announcing the deal, Jay-Z said the partnership with LVMH, which owns other established champagne names such as Dom Perignon and Veuve Cliquot, would help the brand grow.
“We are confident that the sheer power of the Moët Hennessy global distribution framework, its unparalleled portfolio strength and its long-established track record of excellence in developing luxury brands will give Armand de Brignac the commercial power it needs to grow and flourish even further,” he said.
According to the New York Times, the deal was originally discussed in 2019 and seems to be strengthened, at least in part, by the friendship between the rapper superstar and Alexandre Arnault, the son of LVMH founder and chairman Bernard Arnault.
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