French Government Watches Pernod, Brown-Forman Talks ‘Closely’

The French government is “closely monitoring” talks between Pernod Ricard SA and Brown-Forman Corp. about a potential combination, the country’s finance ministry said.

The ministry’s comment follows a report from local channel BFMTV that said the future headquarters’ location and the board’s composition were of particular interest. The statement came in response to a Bloomberg News enquiry.