Deals: In High Spirits

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America's return to the cocktail--industry-wide sales of hard liquor are up about 8%--also bodes well for Pernod. Investors are certainly drinking it in; since the acquisition, the company's stock price has spiked 38%. But before the celebratory champagne is all gone, Pringuet is confident "something will happen soon" in the trend of consolidation. The industry is looking to a Bacardi and Brown-Forman merger as the probable next big deal, but one thing is clear: the Continental gorillas at Pernod Ricard are thirsty.