Jim Beam, neat, is company's new strategy

By Aaron Smith, staff writer


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Jim Beam bourbon maker Fortune Brands said Wednesday that it will focus on its liquor business, spinning off or selling other parts of the company, including home furnishings and Titleist golf products.

Fortune Brands said its board voted to separate the three parts of the company. The company will focus solely on Beam Global Spirits & Wine, the business unit that it describes as the leading U.S.-based liquor company. The unit, with $2.5 billion in annual sales, produces Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Cruzan, Courvoisier, Canadian Club, Teacher's Scotch and other brands.

The company said it will spin off to shareholders its Home & Security unit, including faucet-producer Moen and MasterBrand Cabinets, as well as Master Lock. The unit, which has $3 billion in annual revenue, will become an independent, publicly traded company.

Fortune Brands said it will sell its golf unit, the Acushnet Company, which produces Titleist golf balls and FootJoy shoes and gloves. The unit has $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

Fortune Brands' (FO, Fortune 500) stock rose about 3% in premarket trading.

"While the breadth and balance of our portfolio have served shareholders very well, we see the potential for even greater value by separating our businesses into focused companies at a time when they have emerged from the economic downturn in such strong positions," said Bruce Carbonari, chief executive of Fortune Brands. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.