Santo Domingo, RD.
Without many people knowing it, several Dominican companies recognized as Marca País which had been 100% local capital have sold part of their shares to foreign investors in order to expand their business.
Companies that offer to the market, both domestically and abroad, products that evoke Dominicanness they have owned international owners for years. Such is the case of the Brugal and Barceló rums, the Dominican National Brewery, Gelats Bon, among other companies.
According to newspaper archives consulted for this work, this decision is motivated because although these brands, each in its productive activity, are the most prestigious in the country, they had a limited market and little participation abroad.
Brugal
One of the iconic Dominican companies who has sold a significant portion of his shares to international entrepreneurs is Ron Brugal. The history of this company began in 1888 when it was founded by Andrés Brugal Monater.
Over time, Brugal was transformed, multiplying its capabilities of distillation, aging and production, but maintaining the tradition that characterizes it.
While the company continued to consolidate more and more in the Dominican people, in 2008 Spanish liquor company Edrington acquired 83% of Brugal shares for a sum of US $ 390 million, which gave way to the expansion of this brand in international markets, especially in Spain, a country where 43% of Dominican export rum is consumed in its different brands.
At that time, the president of the company was George Arzeno Brugal. Edrington was the first producer and distributor of super premium spirits in Scotland. This organization has already highlighted the growth that Brugal has experienced in its two main markets, the Dominican Republic and Spain.
currently Ron Brugal is present in about 50 countries and in the main destinations of the world, among which are South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic, Albania, Italy, France , Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Chile, Canada, the Caribbean, Spain and the United States.
This company generates about 1,000 direct jobs, invests more than US $ 13 million each year in molasses alone and its share of the local market is almost 70%.
Barceló
Although the creator of Ron Barceló was Julián Barceló, a 25-year-old Spaniard who arrived in Santo Domingo in 1927, this brand started from its beginnings, in 1929, To be synonymous with Dominican rum, but it was from 1950 when the company began to have great reception in the local market.
Julián and his brother Andreu came from a Mallorcan family with a long agricultural tradition. They maintained the illusion of exploiting the agro-industry, an activity conducive to the country that had hosted them.
According to the history of this company, in 1994 Barceló, seeking the expansion of its brand, granted Spanish entrepreneurs with a long tradition in the production of wines and spirits, the right to export the brand’s rums. .
In 2002, the company separated from international operations, giving way to group of Dominican-Spanish businessmen, The Dominican part formed by the Barceló Díaz family and the García family, thus creating a new company called annexos Barceló (today Ron Barceló).
However, despite this sale transaction, they currently remain part of the Board of Directors third generation of the Barceló Díaz and García families.
Pelayo de la Mata, president of Grupo Varma, the company dedicated to the distribution of spirits in Spain and owner of the Dominican rum Barceló, has assured an international media that “Buying the Dominican rum company was a big hit.”
For him, when the opportunity arose to acquire the company, it already had an advertising and marketing plan (very good at that time) and managed to connect with people.
In 2019, Barceló consolidated its presence in more than 80 countries around the world. In 2020, Ron Barceló became the world’s first rum certified as Carbon Neutral. Currently, the company.
Cerveseria Nacional sold 51% of its shares
One of the most recognized brands of the Dominican Republic in the world is President beer, which was created by the Dominican National Brewery (CND) which in 1935 bought from the American Beer Company technology equipment to launch the product under the slogan “Although it pays more and double, this beer is better, it is also national.”
In April 2012, the American economic newspaper The Wall Street Jornal Americas, in its digital edition echoed the information that gave account of the negotiations for the sale of the Brewery.
In that month, I. León Jimenes, a company he owned 83.5% of CND shares, and AmBev (Beverage Company of the Americas) announced the start of a transaction to establish a strategic alliance in order to create the leading beverage company in the Caribbean through the combination of its business in the region.
The company will include the production and marketing of beers, malts and soft drinks in the Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent, Antigua and Dominica, as well as exports to 16 other Caribbean countries, the United States and Europe.
Local media reported that the transaction complemented AmBev’s managerial experience with CND’s recognized operational strengths and its presence in the region. Equally, it represented a unique opportunity to further expand the brand, while CND reaffirmed that AmBev was the ideal partner to boost the company’s international growth in an increasingly vibrant beverage industry and further boost the external positioning of President beer.
In the end, the sale resulted in the 51% of the shares in Ambev Brazil for US $ 1,237,000. The negotiation covered two aspects: the sale of 41.76% of CND shares for US $ 1 billion in cash and AmBev Brasil acquired an additional 9.3% stake in CND, which was owned by Heineken NV (Heineken), for the sum of US $ 237 million.
In recent years CND has maintained a sustained investment in the country, with an annual average of RD $ 12,402,000, For which it represents about 1.8% of GDP. From 2018 to 2020, CND estimated a cumulative investment of RD $ 29,557,000.
Brugal
In 2008 the Spanish liquor company Edrington acquired 83% of Brugal shares for US $ 390 million.
Barceló
In 1994, Barceló, seeking the expansion of its brand, granted Spanish businessmen the right to export the brand’s rums.
brewery
In April 2012, the American economic newspaper The Wall Street Jornal Americas reported negotiations for the sale of the Brewery.