Fairport, New York, April 12, 1999 -- Canandaigua Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRNA and CBRNB) announced that the Company completed the purchase of several well-known Canadian whisky brands from Diageo plc on April 9, 1999. The transaction includes Black Velvet, the number three Canadian whisky in the United States; production facilities in Canada; bulk whisky inventories and other assets. Other principal brands acquired include Golden Wedding, OFC, Schenley OFC, MacNaughton, McMaster's and Triple Crown. In addition, the transaction includes multi-year agreements with Diageo under which Canandaigua Brands will provide packaging and distilling services for various Diageo brands.
Canandaigua Brands, Inc., headquartered in Fairport, New York, is a leading producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands in the United States and the United Kingdom. As the second largest supplier of wine, the second largest importer of beers and the fourth largest supplier of distilled spirits, Canandaigua Brands is the largest single-source supplier of these products in the United States. In the United Kingdom, Canandaigua Brands is a leading provider of wine and cider, as well as the premier independent wholesaler of beverage alcohol products.