just The Preview - Diageo Q2 & H1

Diageo releases its Q2 and H1 results on Thursday (31 January). Below, we take a look at the highs and lows for the company in the three months to the end of December.

• The big positive for Diageo in the past quarter was its announcement to consummate its long courting of UB Group's United Spirits. The company said in November it had agreed a INR111.7bn (US$2.05bn) deal to acquire a 53.4% stake in the Indian firm. United Spirits' owner, Vijay Mallya, was forced to defend the sale, saying he isn't selling the family silver, but it is a much needed injection to his empire.
• A side-effect to the deal was Diageo announcing it would take a 50/50 share in UB Group's sorghum beer business unit in South Africa, a transaction that moved closer to completion today.
• There was more co-operation in October when Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Angus Dundee agreed on a joint investment in a 16-mile gas pipeline linking four of their Speyside distilleries to Scotland’s main gas network. 
• Further rumours appeared in December linking Diageo to a swoop for Beam Inc. Not so fast, said one commentator.
• One potential takeover that didn't transpire was Diageo's buyout of Jose Cuervo. The company was expected to expand a long-standing distribution deal into something more concrete, but in a surprise move Diageo said last month that talks had collapsed completely.
• There was a lot of focus on Latin America this quarter. In November, the head of Diageo's operations in Brazil said the company is set to expand its distribution, while a few days later an analyst predicted a Latin America sales surge for the company over the next five years.

For just-drinks' coverage of Diageo's Q1 trading update, click here.

just-drinks will bring you full coverage of the company's first-half results on Thursday.