Bermuda headquartered liquor company Bacardi made a splash into the lucrative vodka market yesterday with its inking of a deal to buy leading brand Grey Goose in an acquisition speculated to have cost more than $2 billion .

An increasing number of the world's leading liquor labels are being bought up by Bacardi - the well-known rum maker dating back to the 1800s - but what may be little known by consumers is how wide the company's spirits empire extends.

Bacardi is a privately-held company, with its owners being a wide network of Bacardi family members, although there is increasing speculation that the company could be close to a decision to go public.

Yesterday the Bermuda-based company - which moved to the Island from Cuba after Fidel Castro's government seized the Bacardi plant and forced the family out in 1960 - announced it had finalised its acquisition of Grey Goose.

Meanwhile, buying Grey Goose - which is distilled and bottled in Cognac, France and has a stronghold on the US market - moves Bacardi into an area said to be the fastest growing liquor segment.

Bacardi chairman Ruben Rodriguez told The Royal Gazette that the company's latest deal - which follows on the heels of numerous other strategic acquisitions in years past - will mean little change for Grey Goose.

The leading vodka's branding is to stay the same and it will continue to be made in France.

In effect, the everyday consumer may not realise that Grey Goose is in new hands.

Mr. Rodriguez said that although the Grey Goose trademark was now held by a Bermuda-based holding company, Bacardi International, the value was in keeping the brand just as it was.

"The value here is in the brand. Bacardi Ltd. is the holding company but the value is in the (Grey Goose) brand.

"It is just part of the (Bacardi) family but every brand is independent one to the other."

Yesterday, Bacardi declined to put a price on the acquisition saying it had agreed with the seller - New York-based Sidney Frank Importing Company - not to disclose details but a Wall Street Journal report previously estimated the selling price at more than $2 billion.

As for what other acquisitions might be in the pipeline, Mr. Rodriguez would only allow: "We continue to look for any portfolio gaps but right now we have to integrate Grey Goose into our product line.

"This is our first move, in a big way with such a large brand, into the vodka market - the largest and fastest growing segment. We have to devote all our energies to this."

Finalising the purchase was a big deal for Bacardi as it positions the privately held family group as a leading player in the vodka market, which Mr. Rodriguez said was the "largest and fastest growing" segment not only in the US, but across the world.

Grey Goose, as the top-selling US premium vodka, joins an already impressive liquor line-up owned by Bacardi with it holding the rights to more than 250 brands.

Bacardi, which has built its business on premium brands, is best known for its namesake rum - which holds title to being the world's bestselling spirit. But what may not be as well known is how many other brands Bacardi owns, including leading lights Dewar's scotch whisky Bombay Sapphire gin (both acquired in 1998) and Martini & Rossi vermouth (acquired 1992). A tequila, Cazadores Blue Agave, was also bought up by Bacardi in 2002.

Along the way Bacardi has also developed an extensive line of rum products as well as other spirits. One of those was a vodka, with the company creating an in-house brand called 'Turi', but yesterday Mr. Rodriguez conceded that Bacardi had made little headway in that area of the market.

Buying Grey Goose - which has no doubt gained market share by meeting growing demand for flavoured vodkas with its line of L'Orange, Le Citron and La Vanille - is likely to change that.

Seller Sidney Frank said in a Bacardi Press statement: "We are proud that Grey Goose is considered one of the great success stories in the spirits industry. We know the people at Bacardi will build on what has been accomplished, ensuring that Grey Goose realises its full potential."