DI-A-GE-O: some name for a liquor giant, in this case the one formed by the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness in 1997. A cabbie en route to the company's London headquarters says it sounds like an Italian soccer player. But this Diageo bloke has been ringing up the goals lately. With the purchase of several Seagram brands, Diageo now claims a number one or number two make in each category in the world's biggest spirits market, the U.S. Its overall 29% global market share of volume gives Diageo a clear edge over the U.K.'s Allied Domecq and Brown-Forman of the U.S. in a liquor sector where ability to scoop up top labels is more important than ever.
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