Illva Saronno acquired Tia Maria in July 2009.

The addition of Tia Maria expands the Bacardi cordials and liqueurs portfolio to include Tia Maria, Disaronno, Benedictine, B&B and Drambuie.

John Esposito, president and CEO, Bacardi US said: "Tia Maria is a natural extension of our cordials and liqueurs portfolio.

“Our knowledge of the category will enable us to create great value for our distributors, retailers and Illva Saronno.”

Augusto Reina, CEO, Illva Saronno, said: "This builds on a long-standing relationship between Illva Saronno and Bacardi USA that dates back to 1998 when Bacardi USA began distributing Disaronno in the United States.

"Since that time, Disaronno has grown more than 78 percent and we are excited about the potential for Tia Maria to achieve similar success as the category continues to grow."