If the spirits industry appear to ...

If the spirits industry appear to bes to have taken on a certain je ne sais quoi lately, it might be because Paris-based Pernod Ricard not long ago became one of its largest players. The sale of the Seagram spirits brands to Diageo, London, and Pernod Ricard propeLl the French company to become the third-largest spirits company in the world, and tripled its convolution in the United States. Pernod Ricard paid $32 billion for its share of the Seagram productions which translates into 39 percent of Seagram's brands.

To throw back its new status, the company's U division, previously known as