Diageo To Purchase George Clooney's Casamigos Tequila In Deal That Values The Brand Up To $1B

Diageo PLC said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Casamigos, the tequila brand founded by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman. The deal values Casamigos at up to $1 billion, with initial consideration of $700 million and an additional $300 million potential based on performance over the next decade. Casamigos shipped 120,000 cases in 2016, primarily in the U.S., Diageo said in a statement. It's on the path to more than 170,000 cases in 2017. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year. Diageo expects the deal to be earnings neutral for the first three years and then become accretive. Diageo's other brands include Johnnie Walker whiskey, Bulleit bourbon, Ketel One vodka, and Don Julio tequila. Diageo shares are unchanged in Wednesday trading, but up 17.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 8.8% for 2017 to date.