Diageo Board (DEO)

[BCInvestor]

Diageo New $2.1 BN Purchase Launched in the US by Liquor Group

April 4, 2011 – Jacksonville, FL – In late February 2011, Diageo (NYSE:DEO) the world's largest spirits maker, agreed to buy Mey Icki Distillery, Turkey's biggest spirits company, that holds an 80 percent share of the country's top-selling spirit categories. London-based Diageo, maker of leading alcohol brands including Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka to name a few, acquired Mey Icki and their entire portfolio of products from the private equity firms TPG Capital and Actera for $2.1 billion in cash. TPG Capital manages $48BN in assets with operations worldwide, while Actera is a Turkish Based fund operating in excess of $500 million.

Liquor Group Wholesale (Publicly Traded: LIQR) and it’s privately held state level distribution network was chosen to implement the initial 2 year US distribution strategy for Diageo’s Mey Icki Portfolio, which is lead by Binboa Vodka; the first containers of the vodka the have already landed on US shores at Liquor Group distribution hubs. Binboa comes in award winning bold flavors including: Red Apple, Satsuma, Red Orange and Strawberry, to suit the palates of the new “Daring Taste Aware Consumer”. These products are already funneling through the State Level Customer Distribution Channels of Liquor Group, are being registered for sale in various states and are moving towards end consumers.

“Liquor Group is very pleased to be selected among all of the larger distributors commonly used by major portfolios like Diageo to launch and develop these important brands throughout the US.” says C. J. Eiras, CEO of Liquor Group Wholesale “Our unique abilities and flexibility-to-market allows Liquor Group to achieve distribution success for smaller and larger brands; Binboa will see immediate results at the cash registers due to our Patent-Pending Bailment Distribution Model.”

Binboa’s successful marketing approach is based on a Cerebral Mid-Twenties Survey Style Advertising Campaign; including such slogans as: “On a Night Out, 95% of Party Goers Meet New People, 5% Remember Their Names Afterwards…” and “On a Friday Afternoon, 4% of People Work, 96% Pretend To Work.” High quality spirits coupled with this catchy marketing approach has earned Binboa Vodka the largest market share in segments of Europe and Asia, and will appeal to hip, market savvy US consumers as well. Eiras summarized: “Since Diageo has spent more on this acquisition than Bacardi spent on the purchase of Grey Goose Vodka, we at Liquor Group are confident that this Portfolio is well positioned for success.”