By Andy Young
Treasury Wine Estates' (TWE) buyout of Diageo's wine business has won US anti-trust regulatory approval.
Last month TWE announced that it would be spending US$600 million to acquire the majority of assets from Diageo's US and UK wine operations.
In a statement to the ASX today, TWE said: "Treasury Wine Estates Ltd advises that the US Federal Trade Commission has completed its review of TWE's proposed acquisition of selected parts of the wine assets of Diageo plc (as announced on 14 October 2015) pursuant to the Hart Scott Rodino Act and has no objection to the transaction proceeding."
The statement added that both sides expect completion of the transaction to take effect from 31 December 2015.
The deal will see TWE acquire key US brands including the Beaulieu Vineyards, Sterling Vineyards, Acacia, Provenance and Hewitt. Diageo's US wine business comprises approximately four million cases of wine for FY15, with a strong representation in the key luxury and masstige segments.
TWE will also acquire one of the UK's leading wine brands, Blossom Hill.