“LONDON (Reuters) – Diageo , the world’s biggest spirits maker, has pulled out of talks to buy a stake in top-selling tequila brand Jose Cuervo in a surprise move that could slow its race into fast-growing emerging markets.
The collapse of discussions with Cuervo, which has a distribution deal with Diageo due to end in June 2013, will leave Diageo without a major tequila brand and Cuervo without a leading distributor.
It could fuel speculation Diageo will seek a deal with U.S. group Beam , home of the world’s No.2 tequila brand Sauza, while an industry source said French rival Pernod Ricard might now link up with Cuervo.
Faced with sluggish growth in recession-hit European economies, Diageo has been looking to tap burgeoning middle classes in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where it aims to make around half of its turnover by 2015….”
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