Lead story: Brown-Forman favors a Pernod Ricard merger-of-equals over Sazerac's $15B all-cash bid. The Brown family's preference is structural, not financial. A combined Pernod-BF would carry ~$15B revenue and ~$30B market cap, putting it in Diageo's weight class and triggering inevitable SKU divestitures that mid-sized brands can scoop up.

M&A and earnings highlights: Pernod Q3 came in at €1.945B (-15% YoY), with US -12%, China -7%, and India the only growth engine at +11%. FY26 guidance cut again to -3% to -4%. Stone Brewing changed hands for the second time in four years, this time Sapporo to Duvel Moortgat plus Firestone Walker, closing by end of Q2.

Market data (April 24 close): BF.B $28.38 (mkt cap $13.33B, putting Sazerac's $15B offer at a thin 13% premium for a control transaction), STZ $158.13, DEO $79.50 with a 4.25% yield. Diageo's $44B cap is the comp shareholders will run against any Pernod-BF combination.

Aggregated sources, voices generated with ai. Prepared by Jason Littrell

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