( CNN ) -- Diageo drinks maker owns beverage alcohol brands across spirits , wine and beer categories including Smirnoff , Johnnie Walker , Captain Morgan , Baileys , J & B , Jose Cuervo , Tanqueray , Guinness , Crown Royal , Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines , and Bushmills Irish whiskey . Diageo owns brands including Smirnoff , Jose Cuervo , Tanqueray and Guinness . In 1997 Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness UDV , the brewing company most famous for its dark stout beer . The combined company was dubbed Diageo , a name that merged the Latin for `` day '' with the Greek for `` earth . '' At the time of the merger GrandMet owned Burger King Corporation , Pillsbury Company , and a range of drinks brands , including Baileys and Smirnoff . When Guinness and GrandMet merged to form Diageo in 1997 , GrandMet had a market cap of $ 1.64 billion . Today Diageo has grown to almost $ 61.5 billion . As listed in Forbes , Diageo 's sales in 2007 hit $ 13.4 billion , and its profits for the year totaled $ 3.5 billion . Today , Diageo employs 72,000 people across more than 200 markets worldwide .
Diageo was the result of the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness . The company boasts brands such as Guinness and Guinness UDV . Diageo employs 72,000 people across 72,000 markets worldwide .