MW Brown-Forman's stock is soaring. Has it finally gotten cheap enough to attract a suitor?

By Tomi Kilgore

The Jack Daniel's parent is reportedly being eyed by Paris-based spirits giant Pernod Ricard as a potential acquisition

Shares of Brown-Forman surged Thursday, after Bloomberg reported that Pernod Ricard was looking into a potential acquisition of the Jack Daniel's whiskey parent.

Shares of Brown-Forman were having their best day in a year on Thursday, as the struggling parent of Jack Daniel's whiskey got caught up in merger speculation.

The company $(BF.B)$, which also sells Herradura tequila, Chambord liqueur and Fords Gin, is being looked at by Paris-based spirits giant Pernod Ricard $(PRNDY)$ (FR:RI) as a potential acquisition candidate, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Pernod Ricard's brands include Absolut vodka, Beefeater gin and Chivas Regal whiskey.

Brown-Forman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report comes as Brown-Forman has been hurting in the post-COVID era, amid growing concerns that the decline in alcohol sales is a secular change in behavior, as younger generations flock toward health-and-wellness, as well as cheaper, alternatives. Although the company's latest earnings report released in early March provided some signs that a recovery may be in the works, the stock continued to fall.

Through Wednesday, the stock had lost 9.9% so far this year, after tumbling 67.2% amid a five-year losing streak through the end of 2025. In the past week, the stock had closed at the lowest price since June 2012.

But on Thursday, the stock shot up 8.1% in recent afternoon trading, enough to pace the S&P 500 index's SPX gainers. That put it on track for the biggest one day gain since it climbed 8.5% on April 9, 2025.

Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard's U.S.-listed shares fell 6.5% on Thursday.

At current prices, Brown-Forman's market capitalization would be $11.65 billion, while Pernod Ricard's market cap would be $17.33 billion, according to FactSet data.

Bloomberg reported that deliberations between the companies were ongoing, and it is not certain that a deal will be struck.

After such a steep selloff in Brown-Forman's stock, there is reason to believe it has become attractive to a suitor.

As the above chart shows, the stock's price-to-earnings ratio, based on earnings expectations for the next 12 months compiled by FactSet, has fallen to levels not seen since the 2008-'09 financial crisis.

And valuations have become relatively cheap, especially since CEO Lawson Whiting told analysts in early March that market conditions have remained "largely unchanged" for the past several quarters.

"In the current operating environment, which has been challenging and uncertain for some time now, I consider this to be positive," Whiting said, according to a FactSet transcript.

-Tomi Kilgore

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March 26, 2026 15:42 ET (19:42 GMT)

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