Diageo buys drink mixer Stirrings

Posted Jun 16th 2009 4:20PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Diageo plc (DEO)

Signs of life in the merger and acquisitions industry are so scarce right now that this one will have to do: Diageo (NYSE: DEO) has acquired leading cocktail mixer producer Stirrings for an undisclosed sum. Prior to the deal, Diageo held a 20% stake in the company.

"This is a great opportunity to further grow the Stirrings brand and create more synergies with Diageo's array of leading spirits brands," said Larry Schwartz , President of Diageo USA. "As people entertain more at home, they are looking for an easy way to serve bar-quality cocktails and Stirrings fits squarely within our at-home strategy."

Looking to further capitalize on the budget-conscious, party at home movement, Stirrings recently announced that it had slashed the price on all of its cocktail mixers by 10%.

Shares of Diageo, which owns Guinness, Smirnoff, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, and many other spirits companies, are down about 40% from the highs reached in early 2008 but have rebounded lately after a tough start to 2009. The Stirrings acquisition may be part of a push to diversify the company away from a dependence on bar sales and positiion to hold up well during a prolonged recession.

Tags: DEO, Diageo, inthenews, stirrings