Beam will focus on its more profitable brands following the sale

Beam Inc has agreed to sell a group of its “economy” spirit brands to Luxco for around US$65m.

The brands included in the deal are: Wolfschmidt vodka, Calvert (Lord Calvert Canadian, Calvert Extra, and gin), Bellows (blended whiskey, Bourbon, gin, rum, Scotch and vodka), Dark Eyes vodka, Canada House Canadian, and Tempo Triple Sec. The deal is expected to complete by the end of this month, Beam said. 

Matt Shattock, Beam's president & CEO said: “Following the premium brand acquisitions we’ve made in the past two years, this move reduces portfolio complexity in economy vodka and Canadian whisky, and reinforces Beam’s focus on developing our Power Brands and Rising Stars, which are our most profitable growth engines.” 

The brands, solely distributed in North America, generated sales of around $30m in 2012 and sold around 1.8m cases, Beam said.  

Donn Lux, chairman & CEO of Missouri-headquartered Luxco, said: “Beam has done a great job in establishing them (the brands) across many markets and categories. We look forward to expanding them further and bolstering our entire portfolio with our distributors.” 

Beam will continue to produce and bottle the brands until at least January 2014, the company said.