A press release circulated last week saying that Jay-Z had bought high-end champagne company Armand de Brignac. Nicknamed 'The Ace of Spades' – bottles retail at $300 in the US.

The announcement has fuelled speculation that he has been involved in the company for some time. Forbes' Zach O'Malley Greenburg is reporting that Jay already had been pouring money into the brand, and had a $50 million stake prior to last weekend.

Jay-Z has been associated with Armand de Brignac since he fell out with Cristal in 2006.

In an interview with The Economist, Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of the company that makes Cristal was asked about the association between the brand and high profile rappers, he replied: "That’s a good question, but what can we do?” continuing, “We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

In Jay-Z's 2010 quasi-autobiography Decoded he writes about taking exception to the dismissive comments: "That was like a slap in the face … I released a statement saying that I would never drink Cristal or promote it in any way or serve it at my clubs ever again".

Since the 2006 slight, Armand de Brignac has been popping up in Jay-Z lyrics and videos.

In a verse on his single, 'On to the Next One' from The Blueprint 3 he rhymes: "I used to drink Cristal, them motherf***ers racist. So I switched gold bottles on to that Spade s***."

On the surface it looks like Jay-Z just brought his favourite champagne brand, because he's Jay-Z, and he is worth more than $500 million, and he can do things like that. But in reality, it looks like he has been partnered with and promoting Armand de Brignac for years. 

The company have been asked in the past about its relationship with Mr Carter and said that he has had no financial involvement in Armand de Brignac, he just happened to be a fan.