Japanese company to buy Beam for $13.6 billion

Bourbon has a long tradition in rural America, with some of the most well known brands coming out of small towns in Kentucky. But the next time you grab a bottle of your favorite bourbon off the store shelf, you could be putting money into the pockets of a Japanese company. On Monday, Suntory of Japan announced a $13.6 billion deal to buy Beam Inc., which produces several brands of liquor, including Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, Bruce Schreiner reports for The Associated Press.

Officials say the only change in the product will be the name of the owner, Schreiner writes. Chuck Cowdery, an American whiskey writer, told Schreiner, "Ultimately, what the consumer should be interested in is the product. There's absolutely no reason that the product should change. So the consumer really doesn't have anything to be concerned about."

The move could actually help sales, Schreiner writes. "Kentucky, which claims it produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon, has shared in the prosperity. As demand worldwide has spiked, the state's bourbon production has risen more than 120 percent since 1999 to more than 1 million barrels in 2012, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. Also, more than 2.5 million visitors toured the major distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in the past five years, the group said." (Read more)

Suntory, which was Japan's first distillery in 1923, "has since grown into a sprawling conglomerate that spans fitness clubs, Subway restaurants, fresh flowers and golf ranges," Michael De La Merced and David Gelles write for The New York Times. "Buying Beam will bring Suntory’s total annual revenue to $4.3 billion and bolster the Japanese company’s presence in the United States market." (Read more)