Drinks all around! The Japanese company Suntory Holdings purchased Beam Inc. for $13.6 billion to mark the first beverage corporate acquisition of 2014.
Suntory stakes the claim of producing the first batch of genuine Japanese whisky in 1929 and has since become a major player in the Japanese beverage industry.
This acquisition makes Suntory the world’s third largest liquor producer and helps with the global distribution of both Suntory and Jim Beam. Beam CEO Matt Shattock says, “Together we will be a global leader in distilled spirits with the #3 position in premium spirits and a dynamic portfolio across key categories.”
Besides its namesake, Beam Inc. also produces Maker’s Mark bourbon, Courvoisier cognac and Sauza tequila.
There are several key elements of the deal that will affect shareholders and Beam employees.
Beam shareholders will get $83.50 in cash for each share, which is 25 percent more than its closing value Friday. (Via Fox Business)
CEO Matt Shattock and other Beam employees will continue to operate the business. This acquisition comes on the heels of other recent major beverage mergers.
Boulevard Brewing Company was purchased for $100 million by Belgian firm Duvel in October of last year. (Via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
But, the biggest beverage merger happened when Inbev, another Belgian company, bought Anheuser Busch for $52 billion in 2008. (Via The New York Times)
Suntory is probably best known in the U.S., to Bill Murray fans, for appearing in this scene in "Lost in Translation." (Via Focus Features)
Forbes says Suntory and Beam expect to bring in net sales of more than $4.3 billion a year.
