Posted by The New York Times announced JAY-Z had sold half of his Ace of Spades champagne line to French luxury goods company LVMH late last month. And according to Forbes, the Roc Nation mogul’s move was worth more than the “half a B” he bragged about in Meek Mill’s 2018 Championships single “What’s Free.”
The deal appears to have valued the Armand de Brignac brand at over $600 million, which would land him a cash payment of at least $300 million. Hov sold 50 percent of the champagne business to LVMH’s Moët Hennessy in a move Moët’s CEO Philippe Schaus says is aimed at “taking the business to new heights across the world.”
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After conversations with five beverage analysts and industry insiders, Forbes values the deal for the bubbly wine — known by its nickname Ace of Spades due to its logo design and several of Hov’s lyrics promoting it — at roughly $630 million, double what they previously thought. LVMH nor Hov have revealed the details of the deal publicly but based on analyst estimates, the Hip Hop billionaire likely pocketed at least $315 million in the deal.
JAY-Z Sells Half Of Ace Of Spades Champagne Line To Luxury Giant LVMH
Jay acquired Ace of Spades in 2006 not long after Cristal champagne CEO Frédéric Rouzaud made a questionable comment about rappers buying his product. “What can we do?” Rouzaud said at the time. “We can’t forbid people from buying it.”
Ace of Spades made its debut in his “Show Me What You Got” video later that year and he was off to the races. Thanks in part to the popularity and strong sales of the product, Jay was able to reach billionaire status in 2019, the first Hip Hop artist to accomplish the feat.
The deal with Moët Hennessy evolved out of Jay’s close relationship with 28-year-old Alexandre Arnault, the third child of CEO Bernard Arnault.
“I’ll send him a photo of something going on with me or he’ll send me a photo,” Jay said in a press release. “It’s super natural, super chill. I view him as a person of high integrity. Always keeps his word, very punctual. These are some of the qualities I have myself.”
He added, “We were always looking to grow this brand and this happened very naturally. Just the idea of this partnership is a signal to a more diverse way of looking at things.”
A bottle of Ace of Spades champagne starts at $292, but the price can increase dramatically. Specially made bottles can go for almost $200,000.