Will Jorge Paulo Lemann Buy Diageo? Shares Rocket On Rumor

Diageo plc DEO rose more than 8 percent on a report that Jorge Paulo Lemann may make a bid for the London-based purveyor of whiskey, beer and wine.

The news was reported Friday by Brazilian weekly news magazine Veja and picked up by Bloomberg.

Diageo traded recently at $118.09, up $8.79.

In the nine months ended March 31, Diageo posted a 0.3 percent decline in net sales with volume down 1.7 percent.

Even following Friday's run-up, Diageo shares are nearly unchanged during the past three months.

Lehman, a 75-year-old Brazilian billionaire, is sometimes called the King of Beer because of investments in Anheuser Busch Inbev SA BUD.

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Anheuser traded up about 2.7 percent recently to $124.45.

But Lehman's 3G Capital is also known for its $3.8 billion Burger King acquisition in 2010 and for its collaboration with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) in the $28 billion purchase of Heinz in 2013 and the more recent merger of Kraft and Heinz.

Diageo, with a market capitalization of about $75.48 billion, has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is said to be the world's largest producer of distilled spirits.

Diageo previously owned the Burger King fast food restaurant chain which it sold in 2002 for $2.26 billion to a consortium led by Texas Pacific Group.

Diageo previously owned Pillsbury until 2000 when it was sold to General Mills.