Periceyl bought over by DCSL from Pernod Ricard

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL), has acquired the balance 50 percent of shares of Periceyl Pvt Ltd, from Pernod Ricard, a leading company manufacturing expensive liquor brands in France.

Earlier DCSL and Pernod Ricard equally owned the company.

There is strong speculation in the industry that the country's ground situation prompted Pernod Ricard to sell off its stake in Sri Lanka but senior officials at DCSL said management issues that have been cropping up during the last few years may have also contributed to this decision.

“Pernod Ricard has decided to divest their stake in Sri Lanka for sometime now because they are operating from India and they are very big there,” a DCSL official said, adding that the local operation is very small to the company in terms of revenue.

Periceyl was recently under the spotlight when some Customs officials found documents by DCSL in which the latter is alleged to have swindled the state for the last 10 years for over Rs.1,500 million through under invoicing.

The official said that these issues along with the country’s situation have played a role in Pernod Recard’s decision.