Fortune Plan to Focus on Spirits Is on the Beam

20.05.2011
Fortune Brands -- which includes the Titleist and FootJoy brands -- to a group led by the owner of the Fila sport apparel brand for $1.23 billion in cash, as part of its strategy to focus on spirits.

After taxes and sale-related expenses, Fortune would realize $1.1 billion in proceeds, according to the Deerfield, Ill.-based company. The deal is expected to close this year, it said.

CEO Bruce Carbonari previously had announced a plan to spin off the company's golf and home and security businesses by the fourth quarter, part of a concentration on distilled spirits, which includes brands such as Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon and Sauza tequila. It plans to rename itself Beam.

Other brands of Fortune's home and security business include Moen faucets, Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Kitchen Craft cabinetry, Therma-Tru door systems, Simonton windows, Master Lock security products and Waterloo storage and organization products.

Acushnet's sales exceeded $1.2 billion in 2010, with much of its revenue being generated in markets outside the U.S. Operating income before charges was $80 million in 2010, and operating income on a GAAP basis was $89 million.

Fila Korea Ltd., owner of a 100-year-old sport and leisure footwear and apparel brand that is distributed worldwide, leads a group that includes Mirae Asset Private Equity; the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth largest pension fund in the world; and Korea Development Bank, Korea's largest government-owned bank.