Brewery giant Whitbread & Co. PLC of...

Brewery giant Whitbread & Co. PLC of London announced that it is buying the 160-year-old distillery James Burrough PLC, makers of Beefeater gin, for 174.5 million pounds, or about $286 million. Chairman Sam Whitbread said he wanted to build up his company’s liquor business. James Burrough was one of the few major independent companies still largely in private hands and “the one we wanted most,” he said. Whitbread said he will merge the gin company with his Long John whisky business.