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American Brands

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Fortune Brands
Company typeSplit
IndustryConglomerate
PredecessorAmerican Brands
Founded1969
HeadquartersDeerfield, Illinois, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Bruce A. Carbonari
(Chairman of the Board) & (CEO)
ProductsMoen
Master Lock
Jim Beam
DeKuyper
Knob Creek
Vox vodka
El Tesoro tequila revenue = Decrease $ 6.695 billion (2009)
Increase $ 505.20 million (2009)
Decrease $ 242.80 million (2009)
Total assetsIncrease $ 12.370 billion (2009)
Total equityIncrease $ 5.106 billion (2008)
Number of employees
24,248 (December 2009)
DivisionsList of Divisions
WebsiteFortuneBrands.com

Fortune Brands was a holding company founded in 1969 as American Brands and later renamed in 1997 and split apart in 2011. The corporate headquarters was in Deerfield, Illinois in the United States. The company historically had a significant diversity of product offerings. It announced on December 8, 2010, that it planned to focus on its liquor business, and to spin off or sell other parts of the company — including home furnishings and hardware and other golf products.[1][2] The company then sold its Titleist and FootJoy product lines to FILA Korea. On October 3, 2011, it split the remainder of its business into two publicly traded companies: Fortune Brands Home & Security (NYSE: FBHS)[3] and Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM).

History

The American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890, and on December 31, 1985 American Brands became its parent company. Brown & Williamson acquired the tobacco division in 1994.

Former divisions

ACCO

In 1987 American Brands acquired ACCO, a holding company which owned several office supply subsidiaries, which included the Swingline brand. In 2005, the company spun off ACCO to shareholders, and immediately thereafter ACCO merged with General Binding Corporation. This merged company is now known as ACCO Brands.

Golf Division

The Acushnet Company (purchased in 1976) became Fortune Brands' golf division, producing golf balls, shoes, and clubs.

Fortune sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber division in 1985, which was Acushnet's original business (c. early 20th century).

The Golf Division was made up of the following companies:

Titleist and FootJoy were sold to Fila, and Cobra Golf was sold to Puma AG in March 2010.

Home and hardware

Included in this division were the following, which had annual sales of over $4 billion:

Spirits

Fortune Brands had a stable of well known spirits brands, led by Jim Beam.

In July 2005, Fortune Brands and French spirits company Pernod Ricard acquired over 25 additional spirits and wine brands from British holding company Allied Domecq. In November 2007, Constellation Brands announced a purchase of Fortune Brands' wine operations for $885 million USD, a transaction that added 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of vineyards, several major brands such as Clos du Bois, and 2.6 million cases per year of "super-premium" class wine production.

After the other product lines were sold and spun off, the remaining spirits business became Beam Inc..

List of company spirits brands

References

  1. ^ Aaron Smith, Jim Beam, neat, is company's new strategy, CNN Money, December 8, 2010.
  2. ^ Fortune Brands Announces Intent to Separate Company's Three Businesses, The Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2010.
  3. ^ Fortune Brands Home & Security Now Independent, Begins Trading on NYSE, Businesswire, October 4, 2011.
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