CVC-affiliated Sunray Investments Luxembourg S.à r.l. will buy London-listed Stock Spirits for about $1 billion: the takeover offer of 377 pence per share for Stock Spirits represents a premium of 41% to the stock's close on Wednesday. The proposal values Stock Spirits at 767 million pounds ($1.06 billion).

Stock Spirits, which houses more than 70 brands including 1906, Stock Prestige, Vodka No. 1, Keglevich, Limoncè, Stock 84, gets 90% of its sales from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The company's strategy is increasingly focused on premium drinks and brands appealing to younger adults and women.

István Szőke, Managing Partner at CVC said: “Stock Spirits is a high quality business with strong brands, established market positions and significant growth potential and we are delighted that our proposal has been recommended by the Stock Spirits Directors. CVC Funds are a long-standing investor in Central and Eastern Europe and we look forward to working with Stock Spirits management team to help drive its continued development, both by supporting the existing strategy and by investing in inorganic growth opportunities.” 

David Maloney, Chairman of Stock Spirits said: “The directors of Stock Spirits are confident in the long-term prospects of the Stock Spirits Group and believe that the Offer reflects our strong position and represents compelling value for Stock Spirits Shareholders. Stock Spirits continues to deliver an extremely resilient performance and has an even more loyal and engaged consumer base for its outstanding brands. We believe that CVC’s support for our existing strategy and the investment that it intends to make in order to grow our business means that this Offer will benefit all of Stock Spirits’ stakeholders. We are therefore unanimously recommending the Offer to Stock Spirits Shareholders.”

Since its founding in 1981, CVC has invested in companies from Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling to Formula One motor racing and more recently, Spain's top soccer league. It currently has some $115 billion of assets under management.