FORTUNE ACQUISITION COMPLETE, SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Constellation completed the acquisition of Fortune Brands’ U.S. wine portfolio today for $885 million. The acquisition includes Clos du Bois, Wild Horse, Geyser Peak and others, as well as five wineries and vineyards in some of California's finest wine growing regions. The company is formulating an integration plan for the acquired assets and will announce details when the plan is finalized.

If you look at Constellation’s last big winery acquisition, Robert Mondavi, there are two factors at play: lay-offs and selling off brands. Constellation laid off approximately 200 people after acquiring Robert Mondavi, which leaves many employees, 550 total, at Beam worried to say the least. However, a spokesman for Beam told the Press Democrat that it was premature to speculate and that it’s not a “one-size-fits-all situation.” There’s also a chance that Constellation will sell off Beam’s non-core brands, wineries and/or vineyards, much like it did with Mondavi. Only time will tell.