Ryan Reynolds jokes he's 'not as George Clooney as I thought' after £466m gin company sale

Ryan Reynolds jokingly apologised for telling people “to go f*** themselves” after he sold Aviation Gin for $610m (£466m) earlier this week.

The Deadpool star quipped in an out-of-office email, reported by Daily Mail, that he was “not as George Clooney as I thought” after learning about the concept of an “earn out”.

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Clooney famously sold his tequila brand Casamigos in 2018 in a $1bn (£764m) deal so lucrative it catapulted him to the top of the list of highest-paid actors in Hollywood.

An earn out refers to a particular pricing structure for acquisitions in which part of the money is conditional on the company’s continuing performance.

Reynolds and fellow investors in Aviation’s parent company Davos Brand LLC will still receive $335m (£256m) as part of the initial sale, though, so they won’t have to go looking for coins down the back of the sofa.

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The 43-year-old’s tongue-in-cheek email reads: “Thanks for your email. I am currently out of the office but will still be very hard at work selling Aviation Gin. For quite a long time, it seems.

“In related news, I just learned what an 'earn out' is... And I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone I told to go f*** themselves in the last 24 hours.

“My lawyers just explained how long it takes to achieve an 'earn out'... so... turns out I'm not as George Clooney as I thought.”

Reynolds concluded his email with a list of those he felt he owed an apology, including his wife Blake Lively, Dwayne Johnson, Betty White, TGI Friday’s and The Head of Alfredo Garcia.

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Even before his big money gin deal, Reynolds was himself rising up the list of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars.

He was beaten to this year’s top spot by Johnson, with whom he stars in upcoming Netflix movie Red Notice.

Reynolds said in May that Red Notice was half-finished when the production had to shut down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.