Speculation Rises Over a Diageo-Suntory Bid for Beam

Dear Client:New reports surfaced over the weekend claiming that Diageo held meetings with Japanese company Suntory in the spring and summer about forming a partnership to acquire Beam Inc. There's a lot of 'he said, she said,' but we'll try to put it in perspective. Since Beam became a standalone spirits company, there have been lots of different acquisition scenarios thrown out by analysts and journalists citing "unnamed sources." One of the most popular is that Diageo, Pernod, Campari and/or