It turns out Jay-Z’s luxury champagne brand is worth more than “half a B.”
The partnership announced on Monday between Jay-Z and the wine and spirits division of LVMH makes the billionaire rapper the latest celebrity to pocket a windfall by selling part of a consumer brand to a major distributor. The deal appears to have valued the brand, Armand de Brignac, at more than $600 million, which would land him a cash payment of at least $300 million—about $50 million more than he would have made based on the $500 million value he rapped about in Meek Mill’s 2018 song “What’s Free.”
The founder of RocNation sold 50% of the champagne business to LVMH’s Moët Hennessy in a move aimed at “taking the business to new heights across the world,” according to Moet’s CEO Philippe Schaus. LVMH is known to bid competitively, and that certainly appears to have been true for this latest deal.
Forbes values the deal for the bubbly wine, known by its nickname Ace of Spades thanks to its logo design and several of Jay-Z’s lyrics promoting it, at roughly $630 million, based on conversations with five beverage analysts and industry insiders. That’s double Forbes’ previous valuation of the brand. The terms of the deal have not been publicly reported by LVMH or Jay-Z, whose company will still handle production. Neither side would comment, but based on analyst estimates, Jay-Z likely pocketed at least $315 million in the deal.
Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailfreeman/2021/02/26/heres-how-much-jay-z-made-on-his-ace-of-spades-deal-and-how-it-stacks-up-against-kylie-jenner-kim-kardashian-george-clooney-rihanna–cashouts/?sh=1ed042e4679c
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