‘Baijiu Godfather’ Is About to Be $3 Billion Richer

(Bloomberg) — Wu Xiangdong’s first liquor brand, Jinliufu, became a household name in China two decades ago thanks to a TV commercial starring football coach Bora Milutinovic, who took the country’s national team to the World Cup in 2002. 

Wu’s empire has since grown much bigger, with the man known as the Baijiu Godfather controlling 12 spirits brands. Now ZJLD Group Inc., a holding company for four of them that’s backed by KKR & Co., is poised to become Hong Kong’s biggest listing of the year after raising about HK$5 billion ($637 million) in net proceeds.