Constellation Brands Divests Brandy, Wine Brands for $385M

Distillery Sazerac has bought the Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy Brand, while E. & J. Gallo Winery has bought the Nobilo Wine brand.

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VICTOR, NY — Constellation Brands, a  beverage alcohol company, announced June 25 that it has signed an agreement with Sazerac Company, Inc., one of America’s oldest privately held distillers, to divest the Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy brand, related inventory and interests in certain contracts for an aggregate of approximately $255 million. The deal is subject to certain purchase price and closing adjustments, requires FTC review and clearance, and is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

Constellation has signed a separate agreement with E. & J. Gallo Winery to divest its Nobilo Wine brand and certain related assets and liabilities for $130 million, subject to purchase price and closing adjustments. The Nobilo transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2021. This agreement was previously announced in December 2019 and is contingent on closing the amended revised deal announced in May 2020 in which Constellation agreed to divest a portion of its wine and spirits portfolio principally priced at $11 retail and below, and certain related facilities to E. & J. Gallo Winery for approximately $1.03 billion, subject to closing adjustments, of which $250 million is an earnout based on divested brand performance over a two-year period after closing. This amended revised deal, which requires FTC review and clearance, and governmental approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

“These agreements represent another step forward in our efforts to transform our wine and spirits business,” said Bill Newlands, president and chief executive officer at Constellation Brands. “Thanks to the continued hard work of our Constellation team members, together with our distributor and retailer partners, our strategy continues to gain momentum. We look forward to closing these transactions in the coming months.”

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