Pursuits
Jim Beam Inviting Biggest Liquor Takeover Since 2005: Real M&A
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Jim Beam bourbon and Skinnygirl cocktails may be enough to persuade Pernod-Ricard SA and Diageo Plc to attempt the biggest spirits acquisition in six years.
Beam Inc., the liquor company formed in the breakup of Fortune Brands Inc. this year, would be worth about $59 a share in a takeover, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That would value the Deerfield, Illinois-based owner of Courvoisier cognac and Cruzan rum at $10.8 billion including net debt, making it the largest deal in the liquor industry since 2005, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.