Fortune Brands Announces Legal Transfer of Assets from Pernod Ricard.DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :FO), today announced that the legal transfer of spirits and wine assets purchased from Pernod Ricard on July 26, 2005 has been substantially completed. The acquisition includes more than 25 spirits and wine brands, related production facilities and distribution operations in certain markets. "While we have already been managing, marketing and selling these brands, we are pleased to have substantially completed the formal transfer of assets The conveyance of something of value from one person, place, or situation to another. The law recognizes that persons are generally entitled to transfer their assets to whomever they wish and for whatever reason. The most common means of transfer are wills, trusts, and gifts. from Pernod Ricard within the timeframe we envisioned," said Norm Wesley, chairman and chief executive officer of Fortune Brands. "As we mark this milestone, the integration of these brands and operations is progressing very well, and this high-return acquisition is on track to add 35 cents or more to Fortune Brands' earnings per share in 2006." Fortune Brands also reported that the previously announced process for making final purchase price adjustments for the acquisition is nearing completion. The company anticipates two principal adjustments: a payment to Pernod Ricard (199 million British pounds) primarily because the companies have determined that the brands acquired by Fortune Brands have higher actual historical earnings than anticipated prior to due diligence Research; analysis; your homework. This term has caught on in all industries, because it sounds so "wired." Who would want to do analysis or research when they can do due diligence. See wired. ; and a payment to Fortune Brands (approximately 82 million British pounds) due to working capital adjustments. The resulting net payment by Fortune Brands of approximately 117 million British pounds (207 million US dollars) will bring Fortune Brands' total cost for the acquisition to approximately 5.2 billion US dollars. The brands acquired by Fortune Brands include Sauza tequila, Maker's Mark bourbon, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Laphroaig single malt Scotch Single Malt Scotch is a type of single malt whisky, distilled by a single distillery in a pot still, using malted barley as the only grain ingredient in Scotland. As with any Scotch whisky, a Single Malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for and Clos du Bois wines. The company also acquired the former Allied Domecq distribution operations in the U.K., Spain and Germany, and for U.S. wines. The acquisition expands the company's international presence and is expected to more than double the company's sales of spirits and wine. About Fortune Brands Fortune Brands, Inc. is a leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $7 billion. Its operating companies have premier brands and leading market positions in home and hardware products, spirits and wine, and golf equipment. Home and hardware brands include Moen faucets, Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Schrock cabinets, Therma-Tru door systems, Master Lock padlocks and Waterloo tool storage sold by units of Fortune Brands Home & Hardware LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control . Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is the company's spirits and wine business. Major spirits and wine brands include Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbons, Sauza tequila, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, DeKuyper cordials, Starbucks(TM) Coffee Liqueur, Laphroaig single malt Scotch and Clos du Bois and Geyser geyser (gī`zər) [Icel.], hot spring from which water and steam are ejected periodically to heights ranging from a few to several hundred feet. Peak wines. Acushnet Company's golf brands include Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy. Fortune Brands, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors FO and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index See Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index. . To receive company news releases by e-mail, please visit www.fortunebrands.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company does not assume any obligation to update, amend or clarify them to reflect events, new information or circumstances occurring after the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in general economic conditions, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, changes in interest rates, changes in commodity costs, returns on pension assets, competitive product and pricing pressures, trade consolidations, the impact of excise tax Excise Tax 1. An indirect tax charged on the sale of a particular good. 2. A penalty tax applied to ineligible transactions in retirement accounts. This penalty is assessed by and paid to the IRS. Notes: 1. increases with respect to distilled spirits, regulatory developments, the uncertainties of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , changes in golf equipment regulatory standards, the impact of weather, particularly on the home products and golf brands, increases in health care costs, challenges in the integration of acquisitions and joint ventures, including the spirits and wine acquisition and the related internal controls over financial reporting, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
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