Angelina Jolie had many reasons for wanting to get the hell out of the wine-making business. She and Brad Pitt co-owned Chateau Miraval and the Miraval wine business. Angelina owned half of everything, but Brad was mismanaging her half, making deals without informing her, and spending a ridiculous amount of money on dumb sh-t. All of that, plus he’s an alcoholic abuser. So Angelina sold her half, Nouvel, to Yuri Shefler/Stoli/Tenute del Mondo. Stoli owns half of Miraval and they are legally Pitt’s business partners. Pitt is suing everybody about the sale, and Shefler and Jolie are countersuing. It’s a huge mess, but as the legal battle rages on, it definitely looks like Shefler and Jolie are in a much stronger position, and it also looks like Pitt is a terrible businessman who is too immature and stupid to actually work with his new business partners. Speaking of, this week, Miraval signed an exclusive distribution deal with the Campari Group, so that Campari will distribute Miraval’s rose all over the US and France. Guess who didn’t inform Yuri Shefler, Stoli or Tenute del Mondo?
Stoli Group has spoken out against its fellow Château Miraval co-owners, which this week announced an exclusive ten-year distribution deal for the brand with Campari Group. In a statement sent to Just Drinks today, Stoli claimed there was “no tender” for the deal, which gave Campari Group exclusive distribution rights for the Provence rosé brand in the US and France, raising questions over its legitimacy.
A Stoli Group spokesperson said: “In a startling development, the Stoli Group has been shockingly sidelined from any strategic sessions, commercial negotiations, or distribution agreement talks as well as the decision-making process and negotiations at Miraval, raising serious questions about the Campari Group’s partnership. Crucially, there was no tender, and Stoli Group had no involvement whatsoever in the negotiation process. This blatant omission of a co-owner of the brand from critical discussions casts a harsh spotlight on the fairness and transparency of any future agreements and raises questions about legitimacy of the process used for selecting a distribution partner for Miraval.”
Brad Pitt is up to his eyeballs in lawsuits, countersuits, legal bills, search warrants, police raids and court hearings, and he thought it was a great idea to cut out his business partners – who own 50% of Miraval!!! – on a ten-year exclusive distribution deal? He’s insane. What the hell was Campari thinking as well? Like, why is Campari eager to sign this deal, knowing what we know about Pitt’s huge legal troubles? I think the point of Stoli’s statement is the “no tender” thing – they’re saying that Pitt made another disastrous business decision, and Campari probably got a sweetheart deal, one which benefits them more than Miraval. Beyond that, Pitt is operating as he did with Angelina – he thinks he can wave away the 50% Nouvel stake in the business and pretend like he doesn’t have business partners.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Brad Pitt during Blonde red carpet. 79th Venice International Film Festival, Italy – 08 Sep 2022,Image: 720717161, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Brad Pitt during Blonde premiere, 79th Venice International Film Festival, Italy – 08 Sep 2022,Image: 720931966, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Mirco Toniolo / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Brad Pitt Blonde Premiere – Red Carpet – 79th Venice International Film Festival Venice – Venecia Film Festival – Venice 1.9.2022 -,Image: 720984490, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NOGER, NOAUS, NOSWISS, Model Release: no, Pictured: Blonde – Red Carpet – Venice 202, Credit line: F.Altmann / Bang Showbiz / Avalon
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- Apparition surprise de Brad Pitt pour remettre le Cesar d Honneur au realisateur David Fincher aux cote de Virginie Efira,Image: 758586934, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JB Autissier / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Ceremony Cesar Film Awards 2023 At LOlympia In Paris PARIS, FRANCE MARCH 24 Brad Pitt introduces the Honorary César Award during the 48th Cesar Film Awards Ceremony At LOlympia on FEBRUARY 24, 2023 in Paris, France. 48e ceremonie Cesar 2023,Image: 758598180, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MPP / Avalon
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- Brad Pitt in the royal box during the mens’ finals on Day 14 at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, London, UK, 16 July 2023,Image: 789502204, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights, Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter van den Berg / Avalon
He’s going to be completely broke in five years time bc he’s got his head so far up his own ass.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t he raised by hardcore Republicans? Even though he claims to be liberal it looks like he inherited their super entitled, laws don’t apply to me, I can do whatever my ego wants mindset.
It sounds as if he may already be broke, if he’s making desperate distribution deals on the side.
@Steph He was. I remember something about his mother sending Obama a letter that wasn’t so nice because she backed Mitt Romney. I bet she’s full-on MAGA.
I remember that open letter addressing Barack Hussein Obama, told me everything about what she was implying about President Obama. The letter claimed that he supported “killing unborn babies and same-sex marriage”.
I believe he was raised Southern Baptist, but this attitude of entitlement isn’t reserved for Republicans – it’s about being super rich and super powerful and surrounded by people who tell you how wonderful you are.
True, it’s not just Republicans, but the landed gentry of America, car dealership owners, restaurant owners, small businessmen/women, are strongly Republican and think their community owes them as much deference as a billionaire has on the world stage.
@Concern Fae – Really? Because the landed gentry around here are all Democrats. If there were any viable Republicans around, then Massachusetts wouldn’t have had a solid Democrat legislature ever since 1959.
In any case, we’re talking about Brad Pitt, hardly a small business owner.
His parents are conservative, but Brad’s ego and sense of self-entitlement comes from Hollywood blowing smoke up his azz as the Chosen One for over 30 years.
Being a rich white male who is able to mold your public image and perception? That’s a hell of a drug.
Caitlyn Jenner still doesn’t get that she has no access to that anymore. She votes and acts as if all the same old rules apply to her.
Gosh he is a nightmare!
In other news, Brad Pitt was also seen lighting piles of money on fire.
If one is in a 50/50 business partnership, I can’t see how any contract would be legal without the signatures of both parties.
I don’t understand that either, Harla.
Im getting the impression that it’s not 50/50, but rather 51/49 or similar. That kind of arrangement is not uncommon between cofounders so there is no stalemate in business decisions. I learned that in an entrepreneurship class, surprising at first but it does make sense.
Nope. It’s 50/50. Because that is the stake Angelina had and sold to Stoli.
Do we know for sure Angie had 50%, exactly? Just because she is a cofounder does not mean they split it perfectly evenly. Especially if Brad was the one more involved in the business to begin with.
I very much doubt that Campari would make the deal without confirming he had the right to make it unilaterally
Eta: the article states “ Campari did not comment on Stoli Group’s claims but said it had “ensured that the counterparty had all the necessary powers to grant distribution rights” before entering the agreement.” So Brad does have the controlling stake (majority of ownership)
Slush, from that Just Drinks link above:
“Château Miraval was bought by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2008 in partnership with French wine group Famille Perrin. Stoli Group purchased a 50% stake in the business in 2021 from Jolie’s former investment company, Nouvel.”
So both Brad and Stoli own 50%.
@Slush It states clearly in this article about the lawsuit details that her stake was 50%. Which is what Stoli acquired. And it’s why Stoli is taking such drastic legal action against Pitt. As for Campari- regardless of if it was in fact a 50/49 split it was a dumb business decision to get involved with a company in the middle of a massive legal case where the finances are being questioned. And now they have opened themselves up to legal action.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/02/brad-pitt-sues-angelina-jolie-selling-stakes-chateau-miraval-divorce
lol I went right by that in the article!
I wonder what Campari meant when they said they confirmed he had the right to make the deal on his own, then?
To be clear I agree with you that it’s not good business for him to just cut Stoli out, regardless if he has the right to or not.
From what I can remember the Perrins own 50% and Brad and Angelina had the other 50, or 25% each. Brad and Perrin still own 75%. I think Perrin recently claimed in an interview that with Brad they have majority over the new guys.
crogirl- maybe that’s it? Brads behavior implies, to me, that he has more control than Stoli does. But as Ameerah points out, *several* articles mention that 50% number.
Perhaps there was an error or misinterpretation somewhere that got repeated?
The math ain’t mathin for me on this that a publicly held, multi billion dollar company made a deal without some minimal diligence.
@ crogirl
That is the Vineyard not the business Pitt and AJ owned 100% of the business 50% each.
Just depends on what the company’s formation documents say as to who has authority to make that type of decision. There can be 50/50 ownership but decision making authority can be in one or both.
From the Just Drinks article:
“Campari did not comment on Stoli Group’s claims but said it had “ensured that the counterparty had all the necessary powers to grant distribution rights” before entering the agreement.”
What exactly does that mean? Campari further says that they have a great reputation, but are they saying that Stoli was informed and is lying, or not?
Sounds like they’re saying they verified that Brad had the authority/powers to make the deal with them without having to run it by his partner.
Sounds to me like Brad said “ it’s totally cool guys, I can sign anything cuz I make all the decisions, Stoli is totally cool with this, you don’t need to confirm that with them “.
They didn’t just take his word for it. They would have done their own diligence.
I can see Brad doing that 100%, but Campari is a public company valued in the tens of billions — they would not just accept that.
Stoli is privately held, and Campari may see this as an opportunity to buy them or pursue a takeover.
@Slush
Clearly they didn’t or else Stoli would have been apart of that deal and they would have a lawsuit against them.
Coco, so I’m clear what you’re saying. You’re saying Campari didn’t do due diligence before this deal or they did?
@Slush
Yes I think they believed the words of a delusional, fool who is up to his ears in lawsuits for corrupt dealings for the very company they are going into business with.
If things go south they can always play ignorant and put the blame on Pitt.
@Slush
I would also like to point out that Campari got into business with Pitt when the French government is going after Pitt for corporate tax evasion. Pitt lied
about how much his company is worth, so he can pay less taxes for years and they are going after him.
Coco, I’m not a distribution or beverage industry specialist by any means, so I have no specific knowledge on this deal.
But I just would have a really hard time believing that they would do that without getting proof, because as Kristen says, they’re a public company which comes with additional oversight.
I know Brad is a bad dude. But the question isn’t would Brad lie, it’s would a publicly held beverage giant just take his word. I say no.
@Slush
Pitt illegally sold part of the Miraval trademarks brand to Perrin in 2017. Pitt started a new company with the trademark, which made Perrin and Pitt equal partners they transferred trademark to Miraval Provence SAS, which registered them in its name worldwide. Both Pitt and Perrin are currently being sued for those ill illegal actions.
This is we’re Campari probably got the wrong information if Pitt made this deal with the illegal company.
I found a Fortune article which explains why Stoli is suing. They claim that Brad is bypassing them and giving friends like Marc Perrin business responsibilities. Since Stoli is suing for being frozen out, and it’s been known since February 2023, one suspects that Campari must be aware of that. Either they think BP is going to win the power struggle (?) or they truly believe whatever they were shown saying BP had the right to deal with them. Also considering what Heineken (like Campari they stayed involved in Russia and profited big time until public pressure forced them out) did once the spotlight became white-hot on their Russian breweries, does Campari want the world looking at them like that? BP has falsely accused Stoli of having these Russian ties, whereas Campari actually does. BP is also being accused of actively running Miraval into the ground. https://fortune.com/2023/07/11/inside-angelina-jolies-lawsuit-against-brad-pitt-chateau-miraval/amp/
@Coco
That may all be true, but I think that it’s unlikely that if you, a celebrity gossip follower, know this, that Campari, a global company paying tens of millions of dollars a year for legal counsel, would not be able to discover this.
After all of that saying that Yuri was an Oligarch (he’s not) nor does he do business in Russia (which Pitt kept putting in the media), this company does do business with Russia. In fact, a lot,
Interesting, I was unaware of that, ACB. In fact, Campari has increased revenue from Russia in the past year in spite of giving lip service to reducing their footprint there. https://leave-russia.org/campari-group
Not surprised many people have compared him to Trump, so of course he would lie about Yuri being an Oligarch when he actually working with one.
This is the beginning of a proxy fight for Brad’s shares. He isn’t bright enough to understand that Campari is going to wheel around, probably with Stoli help to separate Brad from his shares especially if Brad is running afoul of French tax laws. Dumb actor playing business man tries to run a game on an Old Italian (take that how you will) & a Russian oligarch.
Yup. I am sure Stoli wanted thise distribution rights but in a previous complaint, they said they goal was to introduce and expand the wine in other countries. Campari only got the US and France. Perrin was probably the force behind this deal and why Brad didn’t grasp how Campari being in Russia nulls a large part of his complaint. So dumb
Is this even legal? Pitt is throwing down a triple-dog-dare towards Stoli. Take him down, already.
I think Stoli will challenge and can get this deal nullified. What is he thinking? That Stoli will just get fed up with all this and walk away leaving him in control??? Man is stupid as he is abusive.
Lol Brad thinks he is still a spiteful lil boy. In what world do I say I’m not sharing the profits with a legal partner nor am I letting her/them
Know what I’m doing. It DOES NOT work like that. He did Angie the same
Way til she sold her shares now he cut out Stoli. He will pay them what he owes. He only has 25% and so did Angie and now Stoli. Why can’t they get their money. He thinks he built the brand and they don’t deserve it. Wrong if Angie invested money yes, she did deserve profits.
There is no doubt they think they can make decisions like this one without the input of Stoli, legally can they. He is a partner so no!
Maybe this idiot is sleeping with someone on his legal team and he wants to spend even more time with them, billable hours or not? He is not the sharpest tool in the shed but this is not news, is it?
What’s wrong with Brad?
He has been making bad and controversial decisions for some time. Maybe his mental problems are worse than we realize?
I don’t know, but someone needs to stop him!! Apparently he is not in good mental health to make decisions. Intervention or conservatorship would be ideal for him, maybe?
I don’t know if this is a medical issue so much as it is a lifetime spent being handsome, having people always say yes to whatever you want, and your celebrity meaning that you are never held to account.
It is also possible that he isn’t sober.
It’s called unchecked narcissism
Exactly. The guy has never been told no, probably in his entire life, and can’t accept that he isn’t in control of everything all the time.
This is a really poor move, especially in the middle of expensive lawsuits he has little chance of winning.
If he has mental problems, it’s past time for someone to intervene, including to protect him. Now if he’s doing this out of arrogance or vanity maybe Hollywood should start holding him accountable for things, because some decisions can cause, in some ways, serious lifelong emotional damage and his children have already been through a lot.
Hollywood cannot be so banal as to allow the mental sacrifice of six young people to protect their chosen one..
The ONLY thing Hollywood cares about is money. Nothing else, just money and as long as he keeps making them money, they will continue to support him. Hollywood doesn’t have a conscience.
@ArtHistorian: He’s not. That could very well be what’s clouding his judgment.
https://www.celebitchy.com/827310/brad_pitt_is_getting_drunk_in_pubs_after_he_films_scenes_for_his_formula_1_movie/
There HAS to be something wrong with him. Why would he chose a company with Russian connections that essentially ruins his defense? He’s seriously not mentally well.
Just pointing out that if he were a singer or actress acting this irrationally, he’d probably be in a conservatorship already.
He is so damn shady. He probably doesn’t have any actual liquid asset. He’s living off of credit and is stealing from Peter to pay Paul. What a mess.
The more stupid decisions he makes, the faster he loses the Miraval brand. He’s delaying the inevitable, which is Stoli buying him out for his half. I’m wondering if Campari and Stoli have beef or bad blood between them and Brad specifically chose Campari and hid the distribution negotiations as a way to anger Stoli. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me for Campari to enter such a shady deal. But it’s going to backfire because he’s going to lose Miraval altogether when all his shady business shenanigans come out in court.
I’m just grateful to Stoli for purchasing Angelina’s half!
Yes, we can all agree that he’s a nightmare. If this is the level of his arrogance, stupidity and meanness in treating business partners just imagine how he treated her.
It’s wild that he’s still getting away with hoarding profits. As far as this deal, it was shady even if it turns out perfectly legal and it’s reeks of the same complaints he’s suing for. The reason he was so paranoid and threw out all those claims was because they are things he’d do. And here he is.
I hope Stoli take their gloves off for this because weren’t they planning to distribute? Either way, Pitt has been every stereotype media/society put on Jolie and all women post breakup. And again, where are the profits of the last almost decade for these partners?! Are they shut out of this deal too?
Suing saying Russia “connections” damaged the brand and then making a deal that involves Russia connections. This guy is a trip.
it’s mind-boggling how dumb he is.
I was rewatching the movie Seven the other day and it reminded. Is it just me, or does BRd come across as a really stupid guy? He has a very dumb affect.
The French seem to tolerate a lot from celebrities. But one day Pitt will con the wrong person in the wrong jurisdiction. He may even go to jail. Pitt deals in big money. He will have big consequences.
The French media are actually calling Pitt out ( unlike in the US ) and the French are doing an audit on Pitt for tax evasion. I think some of the cases are going to trial in October or November.
Tick, tick Bradley.