Pernod Ricard hires four banks for possible $1 billion India IPO

Pernod Ricard has hired at least four investment banks for a possible initial public offering of its India business that could raise more than $1 billion in 2027, according to people familiar with the matter and a report published by Moneycontrol.

The banks working on the potential deal are Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and BofA Securities, the report said, citing unnamed sources. The people said the process is still at an early stage and more banks could be added later.

The French spirits group said the review remains exploratory and that there is no certainty an IPO will go ahead. The company has not set a final structure for the offering, the size of the stake to be sold, the valuation or the total amount to be raised, according to the report. The banking details also come from anonymous sources and have not been publicly confirmed by the lenders.

If completed, the offering would give investors a valuation benchmark for one of the largest foreign-owned liquor businesses in India. It would also highlight the growing importance of India for Pernod Ricard, whose local operations have become the company’s second-largest market by sales.

Pernod Ricard India sells a broad range of brands across whisky, vodka, gin, cognac and other spirits. Its portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Jameson and Absolut, as well as Indian labels such as Royal Stag and Imperial Blue. Moneycontrol reported that Royal Stag was the world’s largest-selling whisky brand in 2025.

The possible flotation comes after a period of steady growth in India. Pernod Ricard India reported consolidated sales of ₹274.45 billion in fiscal 2025. The unit operates 24 production sites and employs 1,593 people, according to the figures cited in the report.

In fiscal 2026, sales in India rose 7%, or 9% excluding Imperial Blue, the report said. Those figures are corporate performance data from the prior fiscal year and not a daily market update, but they help explain why the company is studying a public market transaction for the local business.

A deal above $1 billion would rank among the larger consumer-sector equity offerings tied to India’s domestic market. It would also come at a time when global companies are looking more closely at India as a source of growth, driven by a large consumer base, rising incomes and continued expansion in premium alcohol categories.

For Pernod Ricard, an IPO could serve several goals at once. It could raise capital, provide a local market valuation for the Indian business and broaden the company’s profile with domestic investors. It could also help the group highlight the scale of its Indian operations at a time when multinational consumer companies are under pressure to show where future growth will come from.

The timing, however, remains uncertain. Market conditions in 2027, investor demand for consumer offerings and the company’s own strategic priorities could all affect whether the deal moves forward and in what form. The people cited by Moneycontrol said no final decision has been made.

Pernod Ricard has not publicly disclosed a target valuation for the Indian unit. Without a proposed stake size or price range, it is not possible to estimate the overall market capitalization the company might seek in an IPO. Bankers involved in early-stage mandates often work first on structure, regulatory planning and investor positioning before a company decides whether to proceed.

India’s alcohol market is large but complex, with state-level rules on distribution, taxes, pricing and advertising. Those factors can affect profitability and growth differently across regions. Even so, international spirits makers have continued to invest in the country because of its scale and because premium and prestige categories have been expanding faster than some mass-market segments.

Pernod Ricard has been one of the biggest foreign players in that market for years. Its India business spans manufacturing, bottling, distribution and branding across a wide geographic footprint. The 24 production centers cited in the report show the extent of that local presence, while the employee base of 1,593 underlines that the unit is not a small export outpost but a large operating business.

Any public offering would most likely draw close attention from investors looking for exposure to Indian consumer demand through a global brand owner with a strong local portfolio. It could also offer a read-through for other multinational companies considering whether to list local units in India rather than keep them fully private.

Moneycontrol reported the banker appointments on September 7, citing four people familiar with the matter. Pernod Ricard’s position, as conveyed in the report, was that the analysis is still exploratory and that there is no assurance any transaction will take place.