| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: BFA NYSE: BFB S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Distilled beverage Wines |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Headquarters | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Key people | Paul C. Varga, Chairman & CEO |
| Revenue | $3.226 billion USD (2010) |
| Employees | 4,120 |
| Website | www.brown-forman.com |
The Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine business.
Some well-known brands of the corporation include Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Canadian Mist, Early Times, Old Forester, and Korbel champagne.
Contents |
The company was founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, a young pharmaceuticals salesman in Louisville, who had the then-novel idea of selling top-grade whiskey in sealed glass bottles. Since then, it has grown into a company that in fiscal 2006 had sales of $2.4 billion. The Brown family controls more than 70% of the voting shares.[1]
Brown Forman has two classes of common stock, both of which are traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange. The Class A shares carry voting privileges and are thinly traded due to control by the Brown family while the Class B shares are Non-voting stock.
In 2005, the company sold its Lenox division (one of the oldest and most famous manufacturer of fine china in the United States), which had been acquired in 1983, to Department 56 for $USD 160 million. The income generated by the sale was distributed to the shareholders in the form of a one time special dividend.
In 2006, the company acquired the Chambord liqueur brand (a super-premium, black raspberry liqueur produced in France) for $US 250 million.
In 2007, the company acquired Tequila Herradura, a Mexican company that produces the Casa Herradura tequila brand (a super-premium tequila produced in Mexico) for $US 776 million.[2]
In 2007, the company sold its Hartman Luggage division (one of the leaders in the travel goods industry and originally a subdivision of Lenox), to Clarion Capitol Partners. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.
In 2008, the company sold the Bolla and Fontana Candida Italian wine brands to Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV). The terms of the sale were not disclosed.
In 2011, the company sold Fetzer Vineyards and associated brands to the Chilean wine producer Viña Concha y Toro S.A. for $US 238 million.
In 2009, Newsweek magazine ranked Brown-Forman in their "Green Rankings"[14] which examines 500 of the largest corporations on their environmental track record. Brown-Forman was ranked 63rd out of 500 overall, and was ranked 3rd in their industry.[15]