Keith Markel Discusses Beyoncé’s SirDavis Ownership and Potential Uncle Nearest Acquisition in Inc. Magazine

Morrison Cohen Partner Keith Markel, chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice and co-chair of the Luxury Brands Group, was quoted in Inc. discussing Beyoncé’s acquisition of full ownership of SirDavis Whisky following LVMH’s sale of its stake in the brand, as well as speculation surrounding the potential acquisition of whiskey brand Uncle Nearest.

The article examines the potential connection between the two brands, noting that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have longstanding ties to the spirits industry and that Jay-Z’s investment firm, MarcyPen Capital Partners, has been speculated as a possible buyer of Uncle Nearest. Uncle Nearest has been under court-appointed receivership since last year following a lawsuit by Farm Credit Mid-America over more than $100 million in debt, and the receiver has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to sell the company. 

Keith said, “We have already seen successful celebrity ‘power duos’ in the spirits industry, even if they are not couples in the traditional sense,” and named George Clooney and Rande Gerber’s Casamigos and Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s Dos Hombres as two examples.

From a legal perspective, Keith also explained that “there is nothing overtly problematic about a couple having interests in two competing whiskey brands so long as there is disclosure to the ownership of both companies to avoid any conflict of interest issues.”

As he noted, the American whiskey market is highly competitive, and “merely owning interest in two whiskey brands would not, by itself, raise any legal issues and not create any antitrust concerns on its face.”

Read the Inc. article here.