Diageo’s Celebrity-Infused Casamigas Brand Prompts Deal Lawsuit

Diageo Plc duped the founders of a female-focused tequila brand into a deferred-payment sale structure by lying about plans to introduce a competing product affiliated with George Clooney and Cindy Crawford, an unsealed lawsuit says.

The co-founders of 21Seeds Inc. are suing the spirits giant over the 2022 acquisition, saying they were defrauded into a transaction based on heavily back-loaded payouts tied to sales targets Diageo never planned to hit. The deal reflected a scheme to clear the market for Casamigas Jalapeño, a “sister brand” to Diageo’s “crown jewel,” Casamigos, that it was developing with Crawford, the suit says. The ...