Shares of the New York-based wine, beer and spirits company, which forecast full-year profit largely above estimates, rose as much as 4.88 per cent to a record high of $158.75 in early morning trading (all figures US$).

CEO Rob Sands said the full value of the Canadian wine business, which delivered “excellent overall financial results” in 2016, was not being recognized.

Sands said an IPO would create better visibility and that the company expected to take a final decision later this year.

Constellation produces the Jackson-Triggs and Inniskillin wine brands in Canada, where it operated eight wineries in Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick as of February last year.

The company, whose Canadian holdings also include the Black Velvet whisky distillery at Lethbridge, Alta., is trying to separate the consistently growing Canadian wine business from its counterpart in the U.S., CLSA analyst Caroline Levy told Reuters.

An increase in the Hispanic population in the U.S. has spurred demand for Modelo Especial and Corona, premium Mexican beer brands which have also won over other U.S. consumers.

Net income attributable to the company rose 13.4 per cent to $243.4 million, or $1.19 in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 29, beating average analysts estimates of $1.14, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales rose 13.8 per cent to $1.54 billion, topping estimates of $1.52 billion.

Constellation also said it will acquire The Prisoner Wine Company’s portfolio of brands for about $285 million in cash from Huneeus Vintners, a fine wine company.

The deal for the California company’s portfolio is expected to close by the end of April and add about three to five cents to earnings per share in the year ending February 2017.

Constellation is paying a lot for acquisitions to add premium brands, Levy said.

“The consumer is moving upscale, the consumer wants specialtly and premium brands.”

The company also forecast earnings of $6.05-$6.35 per share for the year, largely above analysts’ average expectation of $6.11.

— Reporting for Reuters by Subrat Patnaik and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore.

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Chipotle also said it would spend about $10 million to help local suppliers adhere to the company’s new safety measures.

The popular burrito chain had already told investors in December about its plans to increase testing of ingredients and centralize some processing of food.

The meeting, excerpts of which were broadcast over Twitter’s live-streaming app Periscope and in tweets, started at 11 a.m. ET, hosted by Ells and co-CEO Montgomery Moran.

The company said more than 50,000 employees tuned in via satellite in more than 400 viewing locations, including theaters.

Ells said he was deeply sorry that some people became ill after eating at Chipotle. “Committed to make sure it won’t happen again,” Ells said at the meeting, according to tweets from the company’s official Twitter handle.

Chipotle’s shares have lost nearly a third of their value and sales have plunged about 30 per cent since November, when the first reports of E. coli sickness linked to the chain emerged.

The E. coli outbreak, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Feb. 1 appeared to be over, started in October last year and sickened more than 50 people in 14 states.

The company announced a slew of new food safety measures in December, which involved preparing bell peppers, tomatoes and lettuce in a central kitchen instead of its individual restaurant kitchens.

The company also said it would blanch avocados, onions and jalapenos, before they were used.

Company executives on Monday outlined the same food safety measures.

Ells said the food safety changes would not compromise taste or its commitment to “food with integrity,” a policy that focuses on using organic produce and antibiotic-free meats when those ingredients are available.

Last week, the chain reported its first decline in quarterly same-store sales as a public company, hurt by a sharp drop in customer visits due to the outbreaks.

The company also said earlier this month it was the subject of a national criminal investigation, related to an outbreak.

— Reporting for Reuters by Siddharth Cavale and Subrat Patnaik.

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