London - P. Diddy has jointly bought a tequila company.
The rap mogul has again teamed up with Diageo PLC - with whom he has a joint marketing and profit-sharing deal for Ciroc vodka - to acquire luxury alcohol brand DeLeon for an undisclosed sum.
Diddy said: "With Ciroc, we dated. Now with DeLeon, we're married. This deal is way better. This makes me a true owner."
Since he partnered with Ciroc in 2007, sales have grown from 50 000 cases a year to almost two million and Diageo are hoping Diddy - whose real name is Sean Combs - can have the same impact on sales of the tequila.
Larry Schwartz, President of Diageo North America said: "The joint venture with Combs Wine & Spirits and its purchase of DeLeon is Diageo's latest step toward returning to a leading position in tequila in North America.
"Expanding our relationship with Sean Combs into tequila was a natural choice given Sean's ability to galvanise support for luxury brands, as we've seen with our work together on Ciroc. Ultra-premium and above tequila is a very exciting segment - we already have a strong brand there with Don Julio and are pleased to complement that offering with DeLeon."
DeLeon has five variants which range in price from $120 (about R1 289) to $1 000 per bottle and are currently distributed in 18 US states. - Bang Showbiz