CINCORO Tequila, the spirits label co-founded by Michael Jordan, is raising funds from athlete investors as it prepares to enter several international markets.

Tennis legend Serena Williams and baseball hall-of-famer Derek Jeter are among the athletes joining the ownership group, along with pro golfers Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley. Jason Robins, the chief executive officer of sports-betting firm DraftKings, is also involved. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cincoro is set to roll out its tequila offerings later this year in several major markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, France and Germany. The products are being shipped now and should be available by early July, executive chairperson Emilia Fazzalari said.

“Our plan is to really get this out internationally,” said Fazzalari, who’s also a co-founder. “Tequila, as a category, is doing well. It’s on the rise and it’s expanding globally.”

Celebrity-backed spirits brands have proliferated in recent years, following the growth of labels such as George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila and Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation gin. Meanwhile, high-end tequila has become a particularly popular category among consumers, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US.

Founded by Jordan and several other National Basketball Association (NBA) team owners in 2019 after a series of dinners following league meetings, Cincoro now has a North American distribution network that reaches all 50 states, some Caribbean markets and duty-free stores. So far, it has sold about two million bottles of its various expressions, including blanco, reposado and anejo tequila.

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Executives declined to share revenue figures and the business is not seeking more funding at this time.

Jordan has since left NBA ownership, having sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets last year in a US$3 billion deal. He remains an active businessman, with investments in companies such as sports-betting and technology firms DraftKings and Sportradar Group. He also has his sneaker line with the world’s largest sportswear company, Nike, which generated nearly US$6.6 billion in revenue last year.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion who retired from basketball more than 20 years ago, said in a statement that he’s bringing some of “his closest friends” into the tequila venture as it goes global.

“We are not about having an exit strategy,” Williams, one of those friends who has a sizable scope of investments in her own right, said. “My dream right now, as an athlete turned entrepreneur, is to just build great brands that I like.” BLOOMBERG