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Asked why there is a recent wave of celebrity alcohol deals, Larry Waks has a simple answer: Follow the money.
The Miami-born, Texas-based lawyer has crafted a niche representing stars looking to break into booze, and then helping them cash out. His crowning achievement is helping to broker the $1 billion sale of George Clooney-backed tequila brand Casamigos to Diageo in 2017.
Waks calls it the “ultimate happy liquidity event,” adding that the deal “really kick-started the market and the interest of various different celebrities of all sorts, whether in film, television sports, etc., in hopping on that bandwagon.”
Waks—a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, where he is known internally as “attorney to the stars”—discusses celebrity booze trends on the latest edition of Ad Age’s “Marketer’s Brief” podcast. Since the Clooney-Diageo hookup, other celebs have struck eye-catching deals with alcohol giants, including Ryan Reynolds-backed Aviation Gin and its parent company Davos Brands selling to Diageo last year for $660 million, and Travis Scott signing on to help Anheuser-Busch InBev create a new seltzer brand called Cacti.