LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Concise insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era. ------------------------------------------------- CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE. Moet Hennessy, the drinks unit of luxury goods company LVMH, is buying 50% of champagne business Armand de Brignac from Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, for an undisclosed price. It’s a bold move: the pandemic has pressured champagne sales, with revenue in LVMH’s wines and spirits division falling 14% last year. And celebrity-backed brands aren’t always a sure thing: earlier this month Bernard Arnault’s group suspended Rihanna’s Fenty fashion label. Now could be a good time to buy into premium booze. Tequila is already enjoying a boost, prompting influencer Kendall Jenner to announce a new line last week. And champagne sales are expected to grow 27% over the next two years, Euromonitor reckons. Even if the recovery disappoints, the bet should pay off eventually. The French group trades at 35 times 2021 earnings, a discount to Remy Cointreau’s 63 times multiple. By increasing the proportion of posh booze in its sales from last year’s 11%, LVMH may close some of the gap. (By Dasha Afanasieva) BREAKINGVIEWS Reuters Breakingviews is the world"s leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.