Diageo to swap Bushmills whiskey for control of luxury tequila Don Julio

Diageo is poised to take full control of tequila brand Don Julio as it nears an asset-swap agreement that would see it hand over Bushmills Irish whiskey to Mexico’s Beckmann family.

The world’s biggest drinks company is expected to lay out the details of a deal that would see it take control of the 50pc of Don Julio it does not already own, in exchange for Bushmills and a cash payment. An announcement could come as early as today.

Don Julio is part-owned by Jose Cuervo, the tequila giant founded in 1795 which is controlled by the Beckmanns. Diageo, which used to distribute Jose Cuervo outside of Mexico until June last year , had tried to buy the whole of Jose Cuervo, but was forced to walk away in December 2012 after the two sides failed to reach agreement on an estimated £2bn takeover. Net sales of Don Julio jumped by 22pc on a reported basis in Diageo’s last full financial year, to June 2014, primarily off the back of strong sales in its core market of the US.

Following the termination of the Jose Cuervo distribution deal last year, Diageo has ramped up its marketing activity to bolster Don Julio sales. It also formed a joint venture with the rapper-turned-businessman Sean Combs to buy the upmarket tequila brand DeLeón and acquired Peligroso, a “super premium” tequila brand created by two surfers.

However, Don Julio is still a relative minnow compared to Jose Cuervo, the world’s biggest tequila brand.

Even so, a deal over the remainder of Don Julio, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will provide a boost for Diageo’s chief executive, Ivan Menezes, whose time at the helm of the drinks giant has so far been marred by an emerging markets slow down. At its last update, Diageo said net sales dropped 1.7pc in the three months to Sept 30, after declines in all but one of the regions in which it operates.

A Diageo spokesman declined to comment.