Arcus (company)

Arcus AS

Company type	Aksjeselskap
Traded as	OSE: ARCUS
Industry	Alcoholic beverages
Founded	1996
Defunct	2020
Headquarters	Hagan, Nittedal, Norway
Area served	Norway
Key people	Kenneth Hamnes (CEO)
Website	www.arcus.no

Arcus AS is Norway's largest wholesaler of wine and liquor. It was created when it was demerged from the state owned wine and liquor retailer Vinmonopolet on January 1, 1996 to differ between the retailing, kept in Vinmonopolet, and the import, export, production and storage that was transferred to Arcus.

In July 2001 the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry sold 66% of the company to Sucra, who were also granted an option to purchase the rest of the company, a transaction that took place in 2003. In 2005 Sucra sold Arcus to the Swedish investment company Ratos, including the partial ownership of Braastad. In 2012 Danish Distillers (Aalborg Taffel, etc., Gammel Dansk) was bought from Pernod Ricard. But the akvavit brand Brøndums snaps, which was a brand of Danish Distillers since a merger in 1893, had to be divested because of the dominant position of Danish Distillers in the Danish market. This akvavit brand was sold to Finnish distillers Altia. The factory in Aalborg closed April 2015 when production of the Aalborg brands was moved to Norway. Arcus has both storage of beverages from when it was demerged as well as recipes from Vinmonopolet, some of which date back a long time, including the recipes taken over from the purchase of Løitens Brænderi in 1927.

Arcus was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in December 2016.

Arcus is the largest player in the Norwegian wine market, the second largest in Sweden, and number five in Finland.[1]

Arcus wine companies in Sweden

WineWorld Sweden AB

The Wineagency

Quaffable Wines

Valid Wines

Vinunic

Arcus wine companies in Norway

Arcus Wine Brands

Symposium Wines

Heyday Wines AS

Vinordia

Excellars

Hedoni Wines

Arcus wine companies in Finland

WineWorld Finland

Social Wines Finland

Vinum Import

Vinunic

Brands

• Aalborg Taffel
• Amundsen Arctic Vodka
• Arendalsaquavit
• Bergens Aquavit
• Braastad Cognac
• Gammel Dansk
• Gammel Opland
• Gilde Aquavit
• Golden Cock
• Hammer Vodka
• Jægersborg Aquavit
• Kalinka 22
• LINIE
• Lysholm No52
• Løiten
• Morsa Aquavit
• Royal Castle
• Vikingfjord Vodka

Arcus is also an importer of wine.

Arcus plant in Hamar