Brown-Forman’s $413 million deal last month to buy single malt distiller BenRiach Distillery Co. of Edinburgh is the latest in a series of takeovers roiling the Scottish industry, according to The Scotsman newspaper; here are four more.
$16 billion: In the biggest deal, Japan’s Suntory bought Jim Beam in 2014; Suntory owns Morrison Bowmore Distillers of Glasgow.
$621 million: Emperador of the Philippines for Whyte & Mackay, also of Glasgow in 2014.
$144 million: William Grant & Sons for whiskey liqueur maker Drambuie of Edinburgh in 2014; deal value is estimated because details weren’t disclosed.
$84 million: France’s Rémy Cointreau for Islay whisky maker Bruichladdich.
Pizza Hut conquers Africa’s highest mountain peak: 19,347 feet.
A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 11:34 a.m.
PIZZA HUT set a new Guinness World Record for highest-altitude pizza delivery when it successfully carried a pie to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on Sunday, a stunt marking the company’s expansion today into its 100th country: Tanazania. Over four days, the Yum division used an airplane, a motor vehicle, professional hikers and a backpack to deliver the pepperoni with extra cheese to the summit of Africa’s highest mountain (CNN).
CHURCHILL DOWNS says there’s no connection between the company and an entity with a similar-sounding name among more than 320,000 offshore accounts and trusts unveiled in a “Panama Papers” database Monday (WFPL). What happens when you bet $24 at the Derby without checking the odds again (The Billfold).
TACO BELL: Police in Santa Ana, Calif., bought a 31-year-old employee with cerebral palsy a new $500 adult-size tricycle to get to work after thieves stole his previous one last week; watch the video (KABC). In Ohio, video of a Taco Bell employee’s act of kindness — using sign language to help a customer — is rolling across the Web (WEWS).
KFC remains optimistic about India, despite slower sales (Business Standard). Chick-fil-A’s average sales per restaurant in 2014 were $3.1 million. Rival KFC sold $960,000 per restaurant that year (Business Insider); full rankings (QSR Magazine).
FORD thinks the driverless cars of tomorrow could come with their own drones (Detroit News).
In other news, Staples and Office Depot have called off their merger over anti-trust concerns; Staples has five stores in Louisville, and Office Depot has two (MarketWatch). An atheists group wants to spend $10,000 on billboards protesting a northern Kentucky Noah’s Ark theme park set to open in July, but can’t find anyone to take its business (Courier-Journal).
Fieri
Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho Ba Luu is headed for Market Street in NuLu (Broken Sidewalk). Food Network star Guy Fieri is planning a new restaurant chain, Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse, with the first to open Sept. 9 at Fourth Street Live (Courier-Journal). Kroger needs to fill 14,000 open jobs nationwide (WDRB).
Papa John’s founder and CEO John Schnatter sold 1,209 shares at $60.06 each yesterday, the company said in a regulatory filing moments ago — for a total $72,540.
After the sale, he owned 10,005,312 shares, excluding options, company documents show. At the current stock price, those shares are worth $600.3 million.
. . . up 3.4%, after analysts at Wall Street research house Bernstein raised their 12-month target price to a whopping $1,000 this morning (Business Insider). Amazon is among the 11 big Louisville employer equities in Boulevard’s stock portfolio.
Boulevard reports extensively on executive pay at big local employers. But we also look at what folks are making down in the trenches, sometimes for very peculiar work. Here’s a recent jaw-dropper from Craigslist’s creative gigs help-wanted listings in Louisville.
The description: I live alone in a six-bedroom, four-bath house. I have a tendency to host very large, very lavish, and sometimes very prestigious parties on Friday nights, leaving me with a large mess to clean on my weekends. You must be detail-oriented and extremely thorough. You must be willing to clean my home completely naked. Absolutely no sexual acts or favors will be asked or expected of you. You will simply be required to clean my home in the nude. Looking to possibly make this a regular gig. Please respond with your interest, terms, and photos of yourself.
What it pays: $500 to $1,000 per weekend.
Boulevard thinks the advertiser should have specified the prospective employee’s gender.
An occasional look at premium travel from Louisville.
With Louisville’s own Jennifer Lawrence tripping (hah!) the light fantastic last night in London, Boulevard thought it’d be fun to join the Oscar winner on the red carpet there.
Where: London. When: Friday to Sunday. Airline: Delta and Virgin Atlantic. Route: Louisville to Atlanta to Heathrow; Detroit connection on the return. How much: $6,648 for economy to Atlanta, then business class to London. Virgin Atlantic reservations.
Where to stay? Consider TripAdvisor’s No. 1 rated Hotel 41. It has an executive suite available for Friday and Saturday at $1,379 a night, including taxes and fees; reservations.
Boulevard reports extensively on 
Boulevard 