Casamigos
 | This article contains promotional content. (March 2020) |
| Founded | 2013, United States |
|---|---|
| Founders | George Clooney, Rande Gerber, Mike Meldman |
| Products | Tequila |
| Parent | Diageo |
| Website | casamigostequila |
Casamigos is a tequila company co-founded in 2013 by George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman.[1][2] It was purchased in June 2017 by Diageo[1][3] for $700 million plus up to a further $300 million based on the brand's performance.[4]
History
Formation
The label was launched in 2013,[5] by the American actor George Clooney, nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber, and property developer Mike Meldman.[1][2] The name Casamigos comes from the Spanish casa (house) and amigos (friends), thus "house of friends."[3]
Friends Gerber and Clooney were building vacation homes next to each other in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, sampling tequilas together for months, and Clooney suggested they simply make their own tequila.[6] Bringing in Meldman, they commissioned a distillery in Jalisco, Mexico to make them a tequila that "tasted great and didn't burn going down," among other qualities such as little hangover and ability to drink straight or with ice. After ordering "a thousand bottles a year" from the distillery to sample for two years, they were asked by the distillery to get a business license to continue to order the liquor.[clarification needed] According to CNBC, the company was indeed only intended as a private collection of tequila for the co-founders and their associates, with no intent of taking the company public.[6]
Sale
In June 2017, the world's largest spirits manufacturer, the British multinational Diageo, which has stated that Casamigos is the "fastest-growing super-premium tequila brand in the US,"[1][3] purchased the company for $700 million plus up to a further $300 million based on the brand's performance over the coming decade.[4] Forbes reported that the three co-founders put in $600,000 each as initial investment, and each stand to get up to $333 million if the full $1 billion sale price is realized.[2] The purchase, according to The Wall Street Journal, equated to Diageo paying almost $500 a bottle.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Julia Kollewe (1 January 1970). "George Clooney sells his tequila company for up to $1bn | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Natalie Robehmed. "George Clooney Could Get Up To $233 Million From Casamigos Tequila Sale". Forbes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "George Clooney's tequila firm Casamigos sells for $1bn - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ a b Fontanella-Khan, James; Massoudi, Arash; Vandevelde, Mark (21 June 2017). "Diageo pays up to $1bn for George Clooney tequila brand". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ a b Wilmot, Stephen (22 June 2017). "Why Diageo Is Paying $500 a Bottle for George Clooney's Tequila". The Wall Street Journal. United States. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ a b Elkins, Kathleen (24 July 2017). "How George Clooney accidentally started a billion-dollar tequila company". CNBC. Retrieved 30 July 2017.