George Clooney is selling his tequila company Casamigos to Diageo for as much as $1 billion, the company said Wednesday.

“If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don’t think we would have said yes,” Clooney told CNBC via email. “This reflects Diageo’s belief in our company and our belief in Diageo. But we’re not going anywhere. We’ll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two.”

Diageo said it will initially pay $700 million, with the potential for another $300 million based on the tequila’s performance over 10 years. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2017.

Diageo doesn’t expect the deal to add to its earnings until its fourth year. In the first three years, the brand will not have any impact on earnings

Clooney and co-owners Rande Gerber and Michael Meldman are expected to stay with the company after its acquisition. – CNBC

Classic Clooney

It’s no secret that I’m a big guy Clooney fan. I’ve written about him an uncomfortable amount of times on the blog. I blogged when he started his tequila company (luckily I did not get addicted to tequila). I blogged when he got married. Usually I just found a reason to write an article about him because he’s a such a cool mother fucker. It turns out in addition to being cool, he’s also an extremely smart businessman, because he just sold his Casamigos tequila company for what could amount to $1 billion. I understand  power of name value, but name value alone doesn’t net you a billion dollar deal. In classic Clooney fashion, he celebrated with a shot (or two) but will stay with the company and help it continue to thrive. Check back here in 2020 when Clooney sells his tequila to the owner of the moon for a trillion dollars.

-Ryan