March 26 (Reuters) - French spirits maker Pernod Ricard

and Jack Daniel's owner Brown-Forman ( BF/A ) have held

talks over a possible merger, a source familiar with the matter

told Reuters.

Shares of Brown-Forman ( BF/A ), whose market capitalization was

around $11 billion, rose as much as 21%. Paris-listed shares of

Pernod, valued at around 16.06 billion euros ($18.53 billion),

were down about 4% following the news.

The possibility of a deal between the two alcoholic beverage

makers comes at a time when spirits companies are battling a

multi-year slump in sales that has prompted valuations to slide,

CEOs to exit and the selling of assets and cut costs.

Pernod had launched a restructuring plan targeting 1 billion

euros ($1.18 billion) in savings between 2026 and 2029, which

includes job losses in the first half.

Meanwhile, Brown-Forman ( BF/A ) last year laid out an extensive

restructuring plan that involved job cuts as it looked to

protect margins amid high input costs, including raw materials

such as agave and wood barrels, and raised prices for its

whiskey brands to shield margins.

Earlier this month, Brown-Forman ( BF/A ) beat quarterly results but

said it expects the operating environment for fiscal 2026 to be

challenging due to macroeconomic volatility and consumer

uncertainty.

Bloomberg reported that the companies were in talks for a

deal earlier in the day

Brown-Forman ( BF/A ) did not immediately respond to Reuters' request

for comment.