Class & Relax Lifestyle Magazine N°42

Je terminerais en remerciant le consomma- teur guyanais, qui s’est reconnu dans nos pro- duits et nous a accompagné toutes ces années. Nous lui devons le meilleur à venir. When Ernest Prévot announced his intention to sell Rhums Saint-Maurice, it caused a tsu- nami in the French Guianese economic and political world. Forgetting that it was Ernest Prévot's company that was at stake, some people came up with the craziest ideas to "save" this Guianese heritage. And the less concerned they are with the reality of a diffi- cult business, the more they are scaffolding projects for Rhums Saint-Maurice and its flag- ship agricultural rum, the Belle Cabresse! Withdrawing from this sudden turmoil, Ernest Prévot knew that the final stretch of his profes- sional life would not be easy. His children do not want to take over the family business. The time for resilience has come, and so has the time to find a buyer. Will he be a French Guianese? The answer was not long in coming: no French Guianese buyer had the will or the financial stature to take over the business, which required not only substantial funds, but also the means to invest in the company's future development. It was to avoid having to make further investments that Ernest Prévot, who had already modernised the rum distille- ry, decided to turn the page. At the age of seventy, the man who still has the alertness of a young man knows that he no longer has the energy to continue the adventure: he has devoted his life to Rhums Saint-Maurice, and it is time for him to enjoy his personal time more. In the peaceful gardens of Ker Alberte, where we met, Ernest Prévot clearly presents his approach and what the buyer, the GBH group, has committed to. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: Ernest Prévot, what has been your path over the last two years, from your decision to sell to the sale of Rhums Saint-Maurice? Ernest Prévot: As the company's operations rested entirely on my shoulders, my first deci- sion was to consider stopping my professional

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