Six-time NBA champion and businessman Michael Jordan is putting together yet another winning team, this time full of athlete investors backing his tequila brand, Cincoro.
The spirits label added a spate of athlete investors who, Jordan said in a statement, included some of his “closest friends.” Among those joining Cincoro as co-owners are tennis champion Serena Williams and “Mr. November”—former Yankee Derek Jeter—as well as professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley. Financial terms were not made public, according to a spokesperson.
“Cincoro has always been special to me because of the authentic friendships we’ve established around enjoying Cincoro and spending time together designing it, experiencing it, and tasting it. We are constantly striving for greatness,” Jordan said in a statement.
Jeter and Williams joined Jordan and the other Cincoro Tequila cofounders at the NBA star’s private Florida golf course, Grove XXIII, where they talked strategy and participated in a tasting session of the brand’s tequila as part of its first annual owners’ meeting, according to a press release.
“Being part of Cincoro isn’t just about business—it’s about championing a legacy of greatness,” Williams said in a statement.
Cincoro is introducing new backers just as it scales up its ambitions by setting its sights abroad. Later this year, the brand is set to launch internationally in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Its new markets include France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and the U.K., as well as Dubai and Israel. The brand will also expand to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan. The company said it had sold 1.5 million bottles of tequila in the U.S. as of September 2022.
The company will release a new 375-milliliter bottle available for its Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo tequila offerings starting in May, it said in a press release. Emilia Fazzalari, cofounder and executive chairperson of Cincoro, said now is the right time to jump-start its goals.
“With the demand for premium tequila continuing to rise globally, expanding our team as we expand internationally was a natural next step,” Fazzalari said in an email.
The increased ambitions of Cincoro come as the Mexican distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant has increased its share of the U.S. spirits market over the past few years. In 2023, the tequila and mezcal spirits category brought in $6.5 billion in revenue, beating out sales of American whiskey and falling just short of vodka’s $7.2 billion in revenue, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Several celebrities, including Kendall Jenner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Eva Longoria have launched their own tequila brands, further fueling its growing popularity. In 2017, U.K. liquor giant Diageo, the owner of Don Julio tequila, bought George Clooney’s Casamigos brand for about $1 billion.
Cincoro tequila was cofounded in 2019 by five owners of NBA teams, who at the time included Jordan as owner of the Charlotte Hornets, as well as Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, Wes Edens of the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as Fazzalari and her husband, Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics. In August, Jordan sold his stake in the Hornets for $3 billion, earning him a $2.25 billion profit.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
