Diageo chairman buys £1 million worth of company shares

In a week when global stock markets continued their downtrend towards the end of the year, Diageo’s chairman, Javier Ferran, showed his confidence in the company’s prospects by buying almost £1 million worth of its shares.

On Wednesday, Ferran, the former head of Bacardi, bought 35,000 shares at 2,793.61 pence each, in a transaction worth £977,764. He now holds 198,402 shares worth approximately £5.5 million.

Diageo closes the first half of its present financial year on December 31 and will announce its interim results at the end of January.

Most recently, Diageo sold off a chunk of its spirits portfolio to rival producer Sazerac for US$550 million, offloading its Seagram’s Canadian whisky label, Goldschlager and Booth’s Gin among others.

The brands included in the sale are Seagram’s VO, Seagram’s 83, Seagram’s Five Star, Myers’s, Parrot Bay, Romana Sambuca, Popov, Yukon Jack, Goldschlager, Stirrings, The Club, Scoresby, Black Haus, Peligroso, Relska, Grind, Piehole, Booth’s and John Begg.

The sale is expected to generate an exceptional gain on disposal of approximately £110m.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to complete early in 2019.

For further analysis on Diageo’s sale of these brand’s, click here.