Seagram

The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was in the 1990s the largest owner of alcoholic beverage brands in the world.

Toward the end of its independent existence, it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures. Its purchase of MCA Inc., whose assets included Universal Pictures and its theme parks, was financed through the sale of Seagram's 25% holding of chemical company DuPont, a position it acquired in 1981.

Unable to maintain financial stability, Seagram later imploded, with its beverage assets sold to industry titans Diageo and Pernod Ricard. Universal's television holdings were sold to Barry Diller, and the balance of the Universal entertainment empire and what was Seagram was sold to French conglomerate Vivendi in 2000.