Constellation Brands Provides Additional Comment Regarding U.S. Department of Justice Action
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
VICTOR, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2013 - Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B)
issued the following statement today in further response to the U.S. Department
of Justice's (DOJ) action yesterday concerning the proposed Anheuser-Busch InBev
(AB InBev) and Grupo Modelo (Modelo) transaction.
Constellation Brands believes the DOJ's action demonstrates its
incomplete understanding of the proposed transaction for at least three primary
reasons:
1. Crown Imports, not Modelo, is AB InBev's competitor in the U.S. Corona and
the other Modelo brands are sold in the U.S. by Crown Imports LLC (Crown), a
joint venture currently owned 50/50 by Constellation Brands and Modelo. An
independent company and one of the industry's most successful competitors, Crown
imports, warehouses, markets, prices and distributes the Modelo portfolio and
other products on an exclusive basis across the U.S.
"The Crown team has built its business into the third largest beer company in
the U.S., and it is surprising that the DOJ has overlooked the existence and
commercial activities of this highly successful and autonomous business," said
Rob Sands, president and chief executive officer of Constellation Brands.
"Crown's President Bill Hackett, a 29-year steward of the Modelo brands, and his
team of established beer industry veterans have an outstanding track record of
brand building and sales execution in the marketplace."
"Our Crown team independently develops implements and refines pricing,
promotional and sales strategies for each of our brands in the U.S.," said Bill
Hackett, president of Crown, "and we execute strategies and set distributor
tactical priorities based on our objective analysis of the competitive dynamics
in each local market. Further, our Crown team is responsible for all marketing
decisions, including developing the very successful 'Find Your Beach' campaigns
that support Corona and other Modelo brands in the U.S. Equally important to
consider are the formidable challenges we face to ensure that roughly 170
million cases of beer annually make it safely from multiple foreign breweries to
hundreds of distributors and ultimately many thousands of retailers throughout
the country."
2. Constellation Brands' acquisition of Modelo's interest in Crown will improve
competition. The proposed transaction will enhance Crown's status as an
independent and competitive entity and will strengthen Crown's position as a
growing competitor to AB InBev in the U.S. beer market. Crown will have
complete, autonomous control as the brand owner in the U.S. with respect to its
distribution, marketing, promotion and pricing of Corona and the other Modelo
brands. Critical to Crown's success is its independent judgment in selecting
and collaborating with the best distributor option available in each of Crown's
markets. Underscoring Crown's successes in this regard, Hackett added, "I am
extremely proud of Crown's track record of working through our industry-leading
distributor network to grow share in the highly competitive U.S. beer market,
even during challenging economic times."
3. Crown will have even greater flexibility in responding to competitive factors
in each of its markets. The new contract ensures that Crown will benefit from
both long-term stability in costs of goods provided by AB InBev and from the
operational excellence and global scale of the world's leading beer producer.
As a result, Crown and consumers can benefit from the considerable efficiencies
that are expected to be achieved by the AB InBev/Modelo transaction.
Additionally, Crown will immediately have access to several more Mexican beer
brands to sell in the U.S., and is guaranteed supply of a certain number of new
products each year upon request. In terms of shipment priority, Crown will be on
parity with the Mexican domestic market. Finally, Crown is empowered to freely
innovate and supplement its offerings in the U.S. beyond the Modelo portfolio at
Crown's sole discretion.
Sands reiterated his support for Crown's role in the transaction by stating:
"Constellation Brands has stood behind Crown's highly admired portfolio of
brands not only for the past six years through the Crown joint venture, but also
for the preceding fifteen years when Constellation's subsidiary Barton Beers
imported and sold these beers in the western half of the U.S. Constellation is
thrilled by the opportunity to redouble its support for Bill Hackett and the
entire Crown team in driving Crown's business to even greater successes in the
U.S. in the coming years."
About Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands is the world's leading premium wine company that achieves
success through an unmatched knowledge of wine consumers, storied brands that
suit varied lives and tastes, and more than 4,400 talented employees worldwide.
With a broad portfolio of widely admired premium products across the wine, beer
and spirits categories, Constellation's brand portfolio includes Robert Mondavi,
Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Inniskillin, Franciscan Estate, Mark West, Ruffino,
Simi, Estancia, Corona Extra, Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and SVEDKA Vodka.
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B) is a S&P 500 Index and Fortune 1000®
company with more than 100 brands in our portfolio, sales in about 100 countries
and operations in approximately 40 facilities. The company believes that
industry leadership involves a commitment to our brands, to the trade, to the
land, to investors and to different people around the world who turn to our
products when celebrating big moments or enjoying quiet ones. We express this
commitment through our vision: to elevate life with every glass raised. To learn
more about Constellation, visit the company's website at www.cbrands.com.
CONTACTS
Media
Angela Howland Blackwell: 585-678-7141
Cheryl Gossin: 585-678-7191
Investor Relations
Patty Yahn-Urlaub: 585-678-7483
Bob Czudak: 585-678-7170
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Constellation Brands Inc via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1675035]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Bereitgestellt von Benutzer: hugin
" alt="Argentex Defines 23.6 Million Ounces Ag Eq. @ 132.4 g/t Ag Eq. Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate at Pingüino Silver-Gold ProjectDatum: 01.02.2013 - 15:07 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 225432
Anzahl Zeichen: 7179
contact information:
Town:
Victor
Kategorie:
Business News
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 163 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Constellation Brands Provides Additional Comment Regarding U.S. Department of Justice Action"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Constellation Brands Inc (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
