Actor George Clooney is getting even wealthier.
Diageo plc has agreed to buy high-end tequila brand Casamigos, which is co-founded by Clooney.
The deal values the tequila brand up to $1 billion.
Diageo is the world’s largest spirits maker.
It said it would pay $700 million initially for the company. It will make another potential payment of $300 million over 10 years, depending on performance.
Tequila sales are up, thanks to high end brands such as Casamigos, which has helped the drink gain a more sophisticated image. Its sales rose 5.2 percent globally last year, according to data tracker IWSR, outperforming a spirits industry that edged up only 0.3 percent.
Casamigos means “house of friends.” It’s an appropriate name for a brand founded in 2013 by Clooney and his friends, nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber, husband to model Cindy Crawford, and real estate developer Mike Meldman.
They will continue to promote the brand.
