Diageo to acquire Casamigos for $1 billion
Global spirits giant Diageo is buying George Clooney’s tequila brand as part of a major push into the category.
Diageo is due to pay an initial $700 million for Casamigos and a further potential $300 million based on a performance linked earn-out over 10 years, the company said.
The mega-deal will bring the celebrity-backed brand into Diageo’s portfolio to sit alongside Don Julio tequila, as the company looks to promote the spirit in the US and abroad.
Casamigos was founded in 2013 by American businessman and husband of model Cindy Crawford Rande Gerber, actor Mike Meldman and George Clooney.
The trio will continue to lend their star power to the brand as Diageo aims to bolster its hold on the tequila category in the US - tequila’s biggest export market.
There are also plans to push the brand globally, as Diageo intends to exploit “growth opportunity from international expansion”.
Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, said: “We are delighted to announce this transaction today to extend our participation in the tequila category. It supports our strategy to focus on the high growth super-premium and above segments of the category. With the global strength of Diageo we expect to expand the reach of Casamigos to markets beyond the US to capitalise on the significant international potential of the brand.”
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