the rapper see seagram rapper . for the american basketball team once known as the rochester seagram s see sacramento kings . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message seagram company ltd. industry beverages fate broken up assets sold successor vivendi pernod ricard diageo universal studios universal music group founded 1857 ; 159 years ago 1857 defunct 2000 ; 16 years ago 2000 headquarters montreal quebec canada number of locations burlington oakville oshawa brampton saskatoon edmonton burnaby waterloo key people joseph e. seagram bronfman family products alcoholic beverages parent private 1857 1972 vivendi universal 2000 subsidiaries polygram mca inc. website www.seagramsgin.com seagram company ltd. was a large historical corporation headquartered in montreal quebec canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world . toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures . the seagram assets have since been acquired by other companies notably the coca cola company diageo and pernod ricard . the seagram building the company s american headquarters office tower at 375 park avenue in new york city was designed by architect ludwig mies van der rohe with philip johnson . the former seagram headquarters in montreal now belongs to mcgill university under the name martlet house . contents 1 history 2 seagram museum 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit in 1857 a distillery was founded in waterloo ontario . joseph e. seagram became a partner in 1869 and sole owner in 1883 and the company became known as joseph e. seagram & sons . many decades later in 1924 samuel bronfman and his brothers founded distillers corporation limited in montreal which enjoyed substantial growth in the 1920s in part due to prohibition in the united states . the distillers corporation limited name was derived from a united kingdom company called distillers company limited which controlled the leading brands of whiskey in the uk and which was doing business with the bronfmans . in 1923 the bronfmans purchased the greenbrier distillery in the united states dismantled it shipped it to canada and reassembled it in lasalle quebec . 1 the bronfmans shipped liquor from canada to the french controlled overseas collectivity saint pierre and miquelon off the then dominion of newfoundland which was then shipped by bootleggers to rum rows in new york new jersey and other states . 2 3 in 1928 a few years after the death of joseph e. seagram 1919 the distillers corporation acquired joseph e. seagram & sons from heir and president edward f. seagram ; the merged company retained the seagram name . the company was well prepared for the end of prohibition in 1933 with an ample stock of aged whiskeys ready to sell to the newly opened american market and it prospered accordingly . although the seagram brand is most closely associated with the bronfman family the seagram name itself pre dated the company bronfman founded . although he was never convicted of criminal activity samuel bronfman s dealings with bootleggers during the prohibition era in the us have been researched by various historians and are documented in various peer vetted chronicles . 4 5 in the 1930s when seagram set up business in the united states they paid a fine of 1.5 million to the us government to settle delinquent excise taxes on liquor illegally exported to the us during prohibition . the us government had originally asked for 60 million . 6 original seagram distillery buildings in waterloo now converted to residential condominiums after the death of samuel bronfman in 1971 edgar m. bronfman was named chairman and chief executive officer ceo until june 1994 when his son edgar bronfman jr. was appointed ceo . 7 from the 1950s most of the family holdings of distillers seagrams was held through holding company cemp investments which was owned by the four children of samuel bronfman . the three most popular seagram distilled products in the 60 s 90 s were seven crown vo and crown royal . in 1981 cash rich and wanting to diversify the u.s. based subsidiary seagram company ltd engineered a takeover of conoco inc. a major american oil and gas producing company . although seagram acquired a 32.2 % stake in conoco dupont was brought in as a white knight by the oil company and entered the bidding war . in the end seagram lost out in the conoco bidding war though in exchange for its stake in conoco inc. it became a 24.3 % owner of dupont . by 1995 seagram was dupont s largest single shareholder with four seats on the board of directors . in 1986 the company started a memorable tv commercial campaign advertising its golden wine cooler products . with rising star bruce willis as pitchman seagram rose from fifth place among distillers to first in just two years . citation needed in 1987 seagrams engineered a 1.2 billion takeover of french cognac maker martell & cie. in 1995 edgar bronfman jr. was eager to get into the film and electronic media business . on april 6 1995 after being approached by bronfman jr. dupont announced a deal whereby the company would buy back its shares from the seagram company for 9 billion . seagram s was heavily criticized by the investment community the 24.3 % stake in dupont accounted for 70 % of seagram s earnings . standard & poor s took the unusual step of stating that the sale of the dupont interest could result in a downgrade of seagram s more than 4.2 billion of long term debt . bronfman jr. used the proceeds of the sale to acquire controlling interest in mca whose assets included universal pictures and its theme parks . later seagram purchased polygram and deutsche grammophon . bronfman jr sold controlling interest in seagram s entertainment division in 2000 to vivendi and the beverage division to pernod ricard and diageo . by the time vivendi began auctioning off seagram s beverages business the once renowned operation consisted of around two hundred and fifty drink brands and brand extensions in addition to its original high profile brand names . in 2002 the coca cola company acquired the line of seagram s mixers ginger ale tonic water club soda and seltzer water from pernod ricard and diageo as well as signing a long term agreement to use the seagram s name from pernod ricard . 8 on april 19 2006 pernod ricard announced that they would be closing the former seagram distillery in lawrenceburg indiana . however the distillery was instead sold in 2007 to cl financial a holding company based in trinidad and tobago which then collapsed and required government intervention . they operated the distillery as lawrenceburg distillers indiana . in december 2011 the distillery was purchased by mgp ingredients headquartered in atchison kansas . 9 it is now known as mgp indiana and continues to be the source of the components of seagram s seven crown now owned by diageo . in a 2013 interview with the globe and mail charles bronfman uncle of bronfman jr. stated that the decisions leading to the demise of seagram was a disaster it is a disaster it will be a disaster ... it was a family tragedy . 10 seagram museum edit seagram s escapes mickey beverage bodies in 1997 the seagram museum formerly the original seagram distillery in waterloo was forced to close due to lack of funds . the building is now the home of the centre for international governance innovation . the two original barrel houses are now the seagram lofts condominiums . there were almost 5 acres 2.0 ha of open land upon which the balsillie school of international affairs was subsequently built ; construction began in 2009 and was completed in 2010 . 11 12 see also edit seagram s seven crown canadian whisky whisky distilled beverage liquor portal references edit canadian whiskey the portable expert by davin de kergommeaux isbn 9780771027451 1 daniel okrent last call the rise and fall of prohibition 2010 ; simon & schuster isbn 978 0 7432 7702 0 2 from shirtsleeves to shirtless the bronfman dynasty and the seagram empire by graham d. taylor ; business history conference 2006 3 peter c. newman bronfman dynasty the rothschilds of the new world 1978 ; u.s. title king of the castle the making of a dynasty isbn 0 7710 6758 5 daniel okrent last call the rise and fall of prohibition pp. 146 158 2010 ; simon & schuster isbn 978 0 7432 7702 0 bronfman fortune based on ... well ... bootlegging ottawa citizen august 19 1975 4 edgar m. bronfman good spirits the making of a businessman 1998 isbn 0399143742 pernod ricard and diageo sell seagram s mixers to the coca cola company . business wire may 7 2002 . . retrieved 2010 12 29 . mgp ingredients inc. to purchase lawrenceburg indiana distillery assets company press release oct. 21 2011 . slater joanna 5 april 2013 . charles bronfman opens up about seagram s demise it is a disaster . the globe and mail . retrieved 2013 04 08 . construction continues on the balsillie campus july 2 2010 http cigicampus.cigionline.org tag bsia mercer greg january 8 2009 . new balsillie school will be functional not fancy the record january 8 2009 . kitchener record . retrieved 2009 08 10 . faith nicholas . the bronfmans the rise and fall of the house of seagram 2006 . isbn 0 312 33219 x v t e pernod ricard acquisitions aberlour 1974 dubonnet 1976 irish distillers 1988 orlando wines 1989 wyndham estate 1990 seagram 2000 allied domecq 2005 vin & sprit 2008 lillet 2008 plymouth gin distillery 2008 subsidiaries aberlour corby distilleries1 orlando wines pernod ricard nz premium wine brands scapa v & s group spirits brands vodka absolut explorer fr s level luksusowa polar ice2 renat wyborowa ubr wka3 huzzar orloff whisky blended scotch ballantine s clan campbell chivas royal salute 100 pipers imperial long john passport something special single malt scotch aberlour the glenlivet longmorn scapa strathisla tormore irish whiskey crested ten green spot jameson midleton very rare paddy whiskey powers redbreast bourbon four roses3 canadian whisky wiser s2 indian whiskey blenders pride royal stag imperial blue other doble v dunbar natu nobilis gin beefeater cork dry gin plymouth gin seagram s gin liqueurs hiram walker kahl a lemond malibu cusenier dita lochan ora ruavieja soho tequila & cacha a olmeca janeiro sao francisco viuda de romero anis ouzo mini pastis 51 pernod ricard pastis pacific cognac & brandy ararat macieira martell a ejo los reyes azteco de oro brandy domecq don pedro presidente rum havana club lamb s navy rum bitters becherovka gammeldansk suze amaro ramazzotti fernet capri wine brands wine jacob s creek montana wines west coast cooler wyndham estate brancott estate campo viejo domecq graffigna kenwood long mountain old tbilisi ap ritifs & fortifieds becherovka byrrh dubonnet lillet ambassadeur bartissol champagne g. h. mumm perrier jou t people paul ricard patrick ricard jean h mard ariste h mard henri louis pernod jules fran ois pernod jules f lix pernod 1 as of 2008 the company is 46 % owned by pernod ricard . 2 via corby . 3 distributed brand . category liquor portal v t e ginger ale and ginger beer a treat ale 8 one barritt s blenheim boylan buffalo rock bundaberg canada dry catawissa crabbie s dr. brown s faygo fentimans fitz s foxon park polar red rock reed s schweppes seagram s sprecher stewart s stoney sussex golden vernors vess white rock external links edit seagram museum collection rg 490 brock university library digital repository retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title seagram & oldid 736107149 categories seagramdistilleries in