Beam Inc. (FO, BEAM) announced the completion of the acquisition of Cooley Distillery, the award-winning Irish whiskey producer. The purchase price was about $95 million on a debt-free basis.
Beam said it expects the acquisition to be earnings neutral in 2012 reflecting substantial initial brand investment, and increasingly accretive in future years.
The company stated that the acquisition includes the Kilbeggan, Connemara, Tyrconnell and Greenore brands, as well as aging inventory and Cooley's malt and grain distilleries in Dundalk and Kilbeggan, Ireland. Cooley is one of only three sources for Irish whiskey and was the category's only remaining independent producer.
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