Diageo Shopping U.S.-Focused Brands; Who Might Buy?

Among the brands London media says Diageo wants to unload are Seagram’s VO Myers’s rum, Popov vodka, Romana sambuca and Goldschlager.

Diageo hopes to reap as much as $1 billion from the sale.  Centerview Partners has been hired to sell the portfolio.

“We regularly review our portfolio to ensure we are maximizing shareholder value,” said a Diageo spokeswoman.

One logical buyer would be Pernod Ricard, which already has some of the brands formerly in the Joseph E. Seagram & Sons portfolio, including The Glenlivet and Chivas Regal.

But a company that would benefit even more would be MGP Ingredients, which owns the former Seagram Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ind., and is seeking to build its own portfolio of brands. The Seagram name is blazoned on several of the MGP distillery buildings.

And, of course, there’s always private equity.

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