Jose Cuervo, World’s Biggest Tequila Producer, Considering IPO, Report Says

Jose Cuervo, the world’s largest producer of tequila, has approached banks to discuss a possible initial public offering (IPO) in Mexico, according to reports. The Mexico City-based company, owned by the Beckmann family, may sell its shares in late 2016 or early 2017, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources.

One of the sources told Bloomberg that the 220-year-old company needed time to meet requirements of corporate governance and financial disclosure before it could go public.

Jose Cuervo CEO Juan Domingo Beckmann has reportedly been talking about a possible IPO since 2006, most recently in October, when he said the brand’s stocks could be listed within 12 months of that time.

The sources also told Bloomberg that the share sale could be worth about $750 million or more, based on the size of the company.

The Mexican distiller was the target of an unsuccessful buyout attempt in 2012, when Diageo failed to close a deal that analysts said could be valued at as much as $3 billion. The tequila producer controls about 33 percent of the global market for the blue agave beverage.

In late 2014, Jose Cuervo reached an agreement with the U.K. distillery giant, under which Diageo would get complete control of the Don Julio tequila brand from the Mexican producer, in exchange for handing over the Bushmills whisky label.

According to Bloomberg, Jose Cuervo’s revenue for the first three quarters of 2015 was $575 million, 41 percent higher than the same period the previous year.

The company also has plans to turn the town of Tequila and the nearby region into a tourist resort along the lines of Napa Valley, Bloomberg reported in February.