Fortune Brands completes legal transfer of assets from Pernod Ricard

01/02/06 Fortune Brands, Inc. has announced that the legal transfer of spirits and wine assets purchased from Pernod Ricard on July 26, 2005 has been substantially completed. The acquisition includes more than 25 spirits and wine brands, related production facilities and distribution operations in certain markets.

Fortune Brands also reported that the previously announced process for making final purchase price adjustments for the acquisition is nearing completion. The company anticipates two principal adjustments: a payment to Pernod Ricard (199 million British pounds) primarily because the companies have determined that the brands acquired by Fortune Brands have higher actual historical earnings than anticipated prior to due diligence; and a payment to Fortune Brands (approximately 82 million British pounds) due to working capital adjustments. The resulting net payment by Fortune Brands of approximately 117 million British pounds (207 million US dollars) will bring Fortune Brands' total cost for the acquisition to approximately 5.2 billion US dollars.

The brands acquired by Fortune Brands include Sauza tequila, Maker's Mark bourbon, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Laphroaig single malt Scotch and Clos du Bois wines. The company also acquired the former Allied Domecq distribution operations in the U.K., Spain and Germany, and for U.S. wines. The acquisition expands the company's international presence and is expected to more than double the company's sales of spirits and wine.

Fortune Brands, Inc. is a leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $7 billion. Its operating companies have premier brands and leading market positions in home and hardware products, spirits and wine, and golf equipment. Home and hardware brands include Moen faucets, Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Schrock cabinets, Therma-Tru door systems, Master Lock padlocks and Waterloo tool storage sold by units of Fortune Brands Home & Hardware LLC. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is the company's spirits and wine business. Major spirits and wine brands include Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbons, Sauza tequila, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, DeKuyper cordials, Starbucks(TM) Coffee Liqueur, Laphroaig single malt Scotch and Clos du Bois and Geyser Peak wines. Acushnet Company's golf brands include Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy. Fortune Brands, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FO and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index.

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