If we told you that Jay Z acquired Armand de Brignac, a reasonable response would be, “What else is new? He’s been pushing gold bottles on us for years.”
But while he’s certainly made no secret of his love for “Ace of Spades” in the past, his actual relationship with the brand has always been shrouded in mystery. The speculation can end now that Jigga has bought Armand de Brignac from NY-based Sovereign Brands.
The New York Times Dealbook quoted a Sovereign Brands statement about the deal:
Full details of the deal haven’t been disclosed—including the name of Jay Z’s company, as well as the cost of Ace acquisition.
But Yvonne Lardner, the global director of brand communications for Sovereign, told Dealbook in an email:
Jigga’s history with Ace goes back some time—hip-hop legend has it that he discovered a bottle of Armand de Brignac by chance in New York, shortly before shooting the video for “Show Me What You Got” in 2006. The timing was right for a shift in bubbly loyalties, since Jay Z had recently announced he was boycotting Cristal after he felt slighted by some comments made by one of Cristal producer Louis Roederer’s executives.
At the time, Jay Z issued an official statement:
Jay Z single-handedly made #goldbottles a thing, and the Armand de Brignac brand has soared in popularity since he started surrounding himself with Ace.
Of course, that led to years of speculation about the depth of his ties to the brand—but that should all be over now that he’s officially got the Ace in his pocket. He was probably making money before, but now he’ll definitely be making money.