MILAN (Reuters) – Monika Bacardi, a member of the family owning the maker of the eponymous rum, said her Liechtenstein-based trust was blocking her attempt to reshuffle the management team at the spirits group, uncovering a fight inside the family.
The 3-billion-euro sales company, which produces and sells a wide range of beverages including Martini vermouth and Bombay Sapphire gin, has called a shareholder meeting on June 18 to appoint its 14-member board.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the widow of Don Luis Bacardi — who was the great-grandson of the spirits group’s founder — said Liechtestein-based Bastille Trust had denied her the right to vote at the shareholder meeting.
The trust, which was founded by Don Luis Bacardi, controls two companies which hold a 6% stake in Bacardi LTD.
In the statement, Monika Bacardi said she was against the list of candidates put forward by the chairman of Bacardi LTD, Facundo Bacardi, adding she would deny her support for that list, being an obstacle to his reappointment at the June 18 meeting.
“Bacardi LTD is the only multinational in the world where the majority of shareholders are represented by trusts whose trustees vote against the instructions of the trusts’ beneficiaries, unconditionally supporting the current leadership team,” she said.
Bermuda-based Bacardi LTD declined to comment on the issue.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
