The deal that demonstrated a rare spirit: One of the top 10 deals that transformed private debt
Featured as one of Private Debt Investor's top 10 transformative deals: Metropolitan's innovative financing for American whiskey company
Project Spirit operates several independent, growing spirit brands in the US and Europe. When the company wanted to build its own inventory, Metropolitan Partners Group provided an alternative capital solution to dilutive equity financing.
The spirits industry presents unique financing challenges: bulk whiskey in wooden barrels is fungible, yet specific yearly vintages are discrete and interchangeable across secondary buyers. The aging process creates known future scarcity of bulk whiskey due to increasing global demand.
Metropolitan created an off-balance sheet financing structure leveraging the unique attributes of aging spirits assets. The innovative solution used both hard assets (bulk whiskey) and favorably priced forward-flow agreements to create a borrowing base that minimized equity dilution while limiting exposure to 70 percent of asset liquidation value.
Featured in Private Debt Investor's cover story and recognized as one of the top 10 deals that transformed private debt, this deal with an initial $25 million commitment and upsizes totaling $100 million demonstrates Metropolitan's expertise in structuring flexible financing for specialized industries while preserving founder ownership.
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