UK-based spirits company Diageo has offloaded its interest in the French sparkling wine producer Bouvet Ladubay to Monmousseau family for an undisclosed sum.

The move follows the British major’s decision to divest its interest in the wine business to focus on its spirits division.

The Monmousseau family has teamed up with three private equity firms Ouest Croissance, CM CIC Investments and Unigrains for the acquisition, reported just-drinks.com.

The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Bouvet Ladubay was acquired by UB Group in 2006 and the brand consequently joined UB’s United Spirits division.

In 2012, Diageo bought a stake in United Spirits and secured a major control of the company in July 2014.

Patrice Monmousseau was quoted by Harpers as saying: "We are very happy with our new partners, and look forward to once again being fully responsible for the future successes of Bouvet Ladubay.

"It is fitting that Bouvet Ladubay returns to the family. Our main aim at this stage is to ensure stability for our employees and the continued development of our business."

Based in St Hilaire St Florent, Bouvet Ladubay is the largest producer of traditional method sparkling wines in Saumur, France.

The wine maker exports some 60% of its six million bottles wine produced to over 45 countries across the world, reported Harpers.

Recently, Diageo divested its wine interests in Argentina to Grupo Penaflor.

The beverage producer also sold its wine business including Beaulieu Vineyards, Sterling Vineyards, Acacia, Provenance and Hewitt to Treasury Wine Estates for $600m.

Recently, Diageo decided to exit the wine category and has been offloading its wine businesses across the globe. It is selling a set of brands to Australia based wine maker Treasury Wine Estates (TWE).

The acquisition of Diageo’s US and UK wine businesses for $600m by TWE is set to begin on 31 December 2015.

The deal is said to complement TWE’s other business operations and help it focus on efficiency, marketing investment and overall business transformation.