Diageo in talks to sell portfolio of US spirit brands

Drinks colossus Diageo is said to be putting several US spirits brands up for sale and could expected to get between $0.5-1bn for the lot.

The Smirnoff and Jonny Walker has been talking to potential buyers to sell a portfolio containing Myer's rum, Goldschlager schnapps, Popov vodka and Romana sambuca, Sky News reported on Thursday.

Diageo has recently been looking to shake up its US spirits business after growth in the past 18 months by weakness in its super-premium vodka brands, Ketel One and Ciroc.

The FTSE 100 company has begun to invest in innovation on these brands, with Ketel One Botanical, a lower-alcohol and -calories version targeting ladies, millennials and increasingly health conscious consumers, plus Ciroc VS, an ultra-premium French Brandy to extend the brand to compete in the fast-growing Cognac category.