Au Vodka Close To £500m Buyout by BuzzBallz Parent Company Sazerac

Swansea’s flashy, gold-bottled alcohol company Au Vodka is edging close to a buyout worth up to £500m. The buyer is Kentucky-based drinks powerhouse Sazerac Company, the corporate parent of brands like Southern Comfort, BuzzBallz, and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

The prospective deal could net payouts of more than £100m each for childhood friends Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn, who established the business in 2015.

Au Vodka's trajectory took off after taking on investment from radio host DJ Charlie Sloth, whose celebrity connections brought high-profile endorsements. Promoted heavily on social media, the brand gained popularity at poolside parties in global hotspots like Ibiza and Dubai. Influencers and star athletes rallied around the shiny bottles, with YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul getting a tattoo of the bottle on his arm as a publicity stunt.

The company expanded its market share by branching into canned, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. That pivot established Au as the UK's leading RTD vodka maker, with only BuzzBallz ahead of them. The business grew rapidly across international markets, moving into dozens of countries and expanding heavily into the US market. Financial filings for the parent firm, Aurous Topco, showed revenues jumping 27.3% to £82.7m with pre-tax profits touching £6.7m.

The success came with a few bumps along the way. In 2025, the Advertising Standards Authority banned a TikTok ad featuring a former Love Island contestant for improperly marketing alcohol to minors. Meanwhile, global drinks producers faced headwinds from trade disruptions and tariffs, making Au's rapid rise stand out to potential suitors.

To accommodate its 80-person team, Au Vodka established a £3m headquarters at Central Business Park in Swansea. The site features a fleet of gold-wrapped cars parked outside and a nine-hole mini-golf course inside.

Negotiations between Sazerac and Au Vodka have been progressing for several months. While industry representatives suggest an agreement is imminent, a source close to Sazerac stated the firm "admired" Au Vodka and its founders, though discussions were ongoing and had yet to be finalized.

The takeover would allow Sazerac "to deepen its presence in the UK" while incorporating another fast-growing product into its global portfolio. If finalized, it remains unclear whether Morgan and Quinn will stay on in operational roles under the new ownership structure.