Casamigos purchased by Diageo for $1 billion; Clooney and Gerber are ALCO studs!!!

Four days ago, Diageo made a huge transaction in the Alcohol, Spirits, beverages (ASB) world. The London based company bought Casamigos Tequila for $1 Billion, in a record breaking deal. Diageo owns Don Julio Tequila already, but Diageo continues to add to their arsenal in the Beverages and Spirits industry. In late 2012/early 2013, George Clooney; Rande Gerber; and Mike Meldman started Casamigos in Malibu, California. The three successful people come from diverse backgrounds, and their collaboration turned into a lucrative partnership. The $1 billion price tag breaks down to an initial $700 million, plus $300 million more based on increased sales over the next decade. Casamigos Tequila is a top brand in the growing tequila category, selling 120,000 cases in 2016. Furthermore, most of the sales of Casamigos are domestic. The brand is found in many high end stores; and restaurants around the USA. Casamigos is expected to top 170,000 cases sold in 2017. Some of the most popular brands of tequila are Jose Cuervo, Don Julio, Avion, and Patron. Did you know that sales of super-premium tequila are up more than 700 percent nationwide, since 2002? Tequila is the main ingredient in a margarita, or mixed with Sprite/7 UP as a good summer drink. For myself, Casamigos became a high end tequila to try in 2015. Mixing it with 7 UP was the right thing to do, on a hot May day in the AZ summer. It was Primo Greenleaf's birthday, and we had to celebrate in the right way. Primo had a margarita with Patron, as he perused the beautiful ladies in the speakeasy in Scottsdale. Let's fast forward to Cinco de Mayo 2017! On that day, mixing Casamigos and sprite became a cool concoction for me to sip on another hot AZ sumer day. Personally, the gold Casamigos tequila is a much better tasting flavor than their silver tequila. Back to Diageo's other alcoholic (ALCO) spirits collection, the company has the following brands: Johnnie Walker Scotch, Crown Royal Canadian Whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum, Baileys Irish Cream, Don Julio tequila, Tanqueray gin and Guinness beer. The Casamigos sale is expected to close in the second half, of 2017. Congratulations to the ALCO trio (Clooney, Gerber, and Meldman)!! Diageo wants to sell Casamigos internationally, as the tequila is going to be distributed to 20 countries on 5 continents. By 2020, Diageo should look to sell the brand in 30 countries on 6 continents. Diageo is a public company on NYSE, and it can be found under 'DEO' stock symbol. They compete with Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), a personal favorite ASB company of mine. Enjoy the image of George Clooney, and Rande Gerber drinking Casamigos in a cool Floridian bar! Cheers, Salute!!