• December 18, 2007

Fortune Brands, Inc. has completed the sale of its U.S. wine business to Constellation Brands in a $885 million transaction. The company earlier this year sold two wine brands to E. & J. Gallo Winery. The combined sales are worth more than $900 million, per the company.

The wine brands in the deal with Constellation were Clos du Bois, Geyser Peak, Wild Horse, Buena Vista Carneros and Gary Farrell, with 2006 sales of 2.6 million 9-liter cases and revenues of $214 million. In addition to the wine brands, the transaction also included the associated vineyards, winemaking assets and sales organization. The previous transaction with Gallo included the William Hill and Canyon Road wine brands and related assets.

--Karl Greenberg