Acushnet May Not Be A Fortune Brand Much Longer

Anupreeta Das, Gina Chon and David Kesmodel report that "activist shareholder" and hedge funder William Ackman may seek to break up Fortune Brands, which includes Acushnet.

A Fortune Brands spokesman said Friday that "we are always open to constructive dialogue with our shareholders, but we don't comment on the specifics of those interactions." Fortune has a market capitalization of about $8.2 billion.

A spokesman for Diageo said the U.K. giant would be an interested observer, but he declined to comment on what it would do. Bacardi declined to comment.

Fortune's advisers are likely to pitch the golf gear business to Callaway Golf Co, Nike Inc. and other rivals, according to the people familiar with the matter.