He is taking stock with Kathleen Hayes and Pim Box on Bloomberg Radio. Jose Quervo brand of tequila was founded back in seventeen and today it is the best selling tequila in the world. Well, the family that controls Jose Quervo the direct descendants of the namesake founder, the Beckman family. Will they bring the company public? Let's find out more from Ben Bain, he is our Latin America reporter for Bloomberg News. Ben, thanks very much for being with us.
Tell us about this potential initial public offering, who is behind it, what would it do to benefit the company, and when is it expected? If if ever? Sure? Yeah, thanks so much. Um. It's not the first time that we've heard rumblings about a Quervo i p O, but but it seems as though things are more advanced than previously. We're hearing we could see this i p O as soon as the third quarter of this year, at least
that's what UM. We understand the company's targeting UM and it could be worth up to a billion dollars, so it would be a pretty significant especially in Mexico where we've had a pretty dead I p O market. We just had one I p O this year, it was much smaller. UM, so this would be this would be a pretty big deal here in Mexico. UM. The company is still set to be deciding what to do with
the money they could raise. UM. It could be used for for things like, uh, we we've heard paying down debt um or potentially you know, even more of an acquisitive move UM. But the company is set to still kind of be considering that and UM, you know, basically it's a little bit wait and see. Since we first reported this in March, so we understand things are more advanced. The company has hired banks JP Morgan Morgan Stanley, UM and locally Santander UM and also GBM to work on
the deal. So Ben of course, the tequila market, the industry has has gotten so big, right, there's a lot of tequila makers now it's a very popular spirit. Uh what what what does this mean for tequila broadly? Uh, in the Mexican economy, if they're going to have it could be a billion dollar I p O. Yeah, I mean, you're you're completely right. I mean tequila is UM, you know, it's such a big deal globally, it's it's it's it's kind of a growing drink of choice, um you know
for people around the world. Um, and in Mexico. UM you know, the Backman family has been um you know, trying to really kind of build on that momentum um. Uh. Bloomberg reported, uh you know recently that the Backman family is planning to transform the town around Tequila Mexico, which is where uh you know a lot of um, a lot of the tequila is basically made, um, to kind of turn it into almost a Napa Valley like destination,
um you know for tourists. So certainly raising money, UM you know, a billion dollars um you know, would would go a long way, um potentially um in terms of expanding tequila further. Jose where was certainly not the only game in town either, um in the growing tequila markets, so um, you know, would give them more firepower to continue to lead away. Ben bayin terrific reporting, terrific story.
He's our emerging markets left town reporter Latin American for Bloomberg News, joining us from Mexico City