The chairman of Bacardi Ltd. yesterday said he was happy with the outcome of a shareholder vote which could potentially take the power behind the company out of the family?s hands for the first time in over 150 years.

Chairman Ruben Rodriguez yesterday told that they had secured over two thirds of the votes needed to implement change ? but no date or decision had been set to float.

This vote, of approximately 600 Bacardi family members who own 23.5 million shares in the global drinks company, is the second phase of a three-part process which was started in May last year.

?This will give us the financial flexibility we need in order to continue to grow and be prosperous,? said Mr. Rodriguez following the vote yesterday. ?It puts us in a very favourable position.?

In May the family members voted for implementing change, and yesterday they gave the board of directors the power to float on a stock exchange or simply offer more secondary shares if they see fit ? as long as they have two thirds of the board?s vote.

Mr. Rodriguez added: ?We got more than the two thirds needed, and I am quite happy with the outcome.?

Step number one was taken a year ago in May, and in this vote today shareholders agreed to give over power to the board so that they will now have the power to float if they secure two thirds of the board?s vote.

Mr. Rodriguez, the first non-family member head of the company, has been behind the move for the past few years to modernise the highly traditional drinks company. He sees the power to IPO vital in order to give the company the financial flexibility to compete with rival drinks companies.

Proxies were mailed in January to the company?s shareholders and the vote was the final one required by shareholders before the company could hold a public offering.

Shareholders last May took the first step in that direction when they approved a change in bylaws that would allow the issuance of new Class B shares ? which have fewer voting rights than family shares.

The changes represent a major break with tradition for Bacardi, which has been controlled by its namesake family since its founding in Santiago de Cuba in 1862. The last time Bacardi management considered the possibility of an IPO, in 1999, the board shelved the idea because of a lack of shareholder support.

Before shares could be sold through the public market or issued in a private transaction, the change would still need approval of two-thirds of the company?s board of directors.

Mr. Rodriguez said last year that he would move forward only if there were a need to raise capital for a major acquisition.

?Approval of the Class B shares proposal does not necessarily mean Bacardi Ltd. will become a public company,? the proxy stated.

According to a press release issued yesterday, the earliest Bacardi could consider a public offering would be January 1, 2005. But a deal involving another private company could potentially take place this year.

The company could use the new stock as a way to raise money to fund anything from brand acquisition to a merger with another spirits company.

Mr. Rodriguez has been gradually changing the culture at the conservative company so Bacardi isn?t left a step behind the competition.

As the industry continues to consolidate, analysts say Bacardi must look at the public markets in order to expand its portfolio and keep up with industry juggernaut Diageo Plc.

In any possible offering, up to 30 percent of Bacardi?s shares could be sold to public investors, who would be able to purchase only Class B shares in Bacardi, while family members would maintain the Class A shares.

The shares would carry the same price and the same annual dividend ($6.56 per share last year). The difference would be in the voting power: Class A shares would carry 10 votes per share, Class B shares only one.

The two classes would also have different rights in election of the board of directors. Class A shareholders would elect 13 board members, and Class B shareholders would elect three of their own directors.