CRUZAN AND ABSOLUT OFFICIALLY UNITE

Rum distributor and producer Cruzan International announced Friday, March 17 that shareholders voted to approve Absolut’s bid to acquire the company. Cruzan reported that 95.9% of shares agreed to support the merger, noting that 88.5% of those shares were not joined with Absolut or its affiliates. Absolut agreed to pay $28.37 in cash for each issued and outstanding share of Cruzan’s common stock not owned by Absolut. According to reports, the deal could be worth close to $69.79 million with a completion date on March 22.