Shackelford, Melton & McKinley Represents Sellers in $384 Million Acquisition of Fastest-Growing Vodka Brand

DALLAS – SVEDKA®, the fastest-growing vodka brand in the country, has been sold to Constellation Brands Inc. for $384 million. The deal, which closed today, includes the acquisition of Spirits Marque One LLC, the SVEDKA brand owner.

Partner Andrew L. Siegel and Of Counsel Roy J. True of Dallas’ Shackelford, Melton & McKinley, LLP, represented the sellers, Belgium’s AlcoFinance, S.A., AlcoFi, Inc., Spirits Marque One LLC and SVEDKA® creator Guillaume Cuvelier in the transaction. Constellation Brands was represented by New York’s Nixon Peabody LLP.

“The dramatic growth of the SVEDKA® brand into the leading U.S. vodka import has been remarkable,” says Mr. Siegel, who has worked with Mr. Cuvelier and Spirits Marque One, LLC, since the premium vodka first hit the American market. “The sheer size of this deal and its high multiple to earnings are a great tribute to SVEDKA’s® innovative marketing and superior quality.”

SVEDKA®, an 80 proof premium vodka produced in Sweden, was launched in 1998 and is now the fastest growing major imported premium vodka in the United States. Approximately 1.1 million cases of SVEDKA® were sold during 2006, representing a 60 percent increase over 2005 sales volume.

Shackelford, Melton & McKinley provides business and litigation solutions for clients in a wide array of industries, including financial institutions, real estate companies, Fortune 500 companies with corporate aircraft fleets, and retail automobile dealerships, among many others. Firm attorneys rely on their experience and expertise when advising successful business clients on the sale or acquisition of companies, business expansion and reorganization, labor management issues, and other day-to-day operational matters.