LONDON — Fero, the new operating system that provides supply chain and funding from a single platform for the drinks industry, will co-host a panel event bringing together senior dealmakers from across the spirits sector to examine how mergers and acquisitions, investment and liquidity, are rapidly reshaping the drinks category in a more dramatic way.
The panel will consist of some senior-level leaders that have their pulse on the trends across spirits and expect to hear some incredible insights into what to expect over the next 12 to 18 months.
The panel will be moderated by Desmond Woods, from Fero and will feature:
- Matteo Fantacchiotti, former Campari CEO, now Chairman of Cygnet Gin
- Edouard-Antoine Musitelli, EMEA Consumer & Retail Investment Banking, Jefferies International
- Brian Fagan, CEO, Cobblestone Brands
- Ryan McFarland, Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer, Drinksology Kirker Greer
The 60-minute session will add insights into how business founders and leaders are navigating an M&A landscape that looks markedly different from the buy-and-build boom of 2015–2018.
One of the most unique M&A cycles in recent memory
The spirits industry is in the midst of a distinctive M&A cycle. From Sazerac's recent acquisition of Au Vodka for a reported £500m, to drinks giants like Diageo shuttering its Distell Ventures program, to Pernod Ricard recently selling off a number of its international wine brands, this is a time of incredible change. The rise of read-to-drink cocktails growing by 17% in value in the UK in 2025 and 25.7% in dollar sales globally over the same period, it is no surprise that these brands are also being acquired. These changes are drawing a new wave of sellers, often founders with limited prior experience of a transaction, into the market.
"We kept hearing the same thing from founders around how they know they might want to sell one day. But nobody's ever pulled back the curtain on what that actually looks like from the other side of the table," said Desmond Woods, spirit manager at Fero and the event's moderator. "It is very rare to get so many senior leaders that cover so much of the industry and with such great depth of experience into the same room, at the same time. It is rare. That's the conversation we wanted to create."
Mitch Fowler, CEO and co-founder of Fero said: "Fero exists to help brands in this industry make smarter decisions about capital, whether that's working capital or the biggest capital decision a founder will ever make – selling the business they built. This panel is about giving operators the frameworks and the real talk that usually only come from having been through it yourself." The event reflects the company's broader mission of giving the drinks industry better tools to navigate financial complexity to make for a more resilient industry in the longer run.
The date: 17th September, 2026
Time: 18.00 - 21.00
Where: Fero HQ, 22 Ganton Street, 2nd Floor, W1F 7BU
There are very limited seats, but if you would like to register your interest to join us, please do so here.
