A consortium plans to buy Perno Ricard's Australian, New Zealand and Spanish businesses. Photo / 123rf
A consortium plans to buy Perno Ricard's Australian, New Zealand and Spanish businesses. Photo / 123rf
An Australian consortium plans to combine its wholly-owned business Accolade Wines with international wine and spirits firm Pernod Ricard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine businesses.
The consortium of international institutional investors –dubbed Wine Holdco Ltd (AWL) – said it planned to create a more efficient and more diversified global wine business.
It said it would be combining its Australian wholly-owned business Accolade Wines with Pernod Ricard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine businesses.
Pernod Ricard’s New Zealand wine assets represent a “sizeable chunk” of the domestic wine industry, one industry analyst said.
The combined business will have a more diversified portfolio of highly complementary old and new world wine labels, operations in every continent, and be in a better position to meet the challenges facing the wine industry, providing a more certain and financially sustainable future for the business, AWL said.
Pernod Ricard assets to be included in the combined business comprise a wide portfolio of international brands operated with over 10 million cases produced annually from three origins.
These included Jacob’s Creek, Orlando and St Hugo from Australia, Stoneleigh, Brancott Estate and Church Road from New Zealand and Campo Viejo, Ysios, Tarsus and Azpilicueta from Spain.
The assets were described as an integrated platform from vineyard to bottle including seven wineries.
AWL said Accolade Wines was a fully integrated business, managing the entire supply chain from grape to glass.
Church Road Winery chief winemaker Chris Scott in the Tukituki Valley vineyards which produced an award-winning Chardonnay. Photo / Supplied
Accolade’s portfolio included Hardys, Grant Burge, Banrock Station, St Hallett and Petaluma, as well as Mud House, Dolly Wines, Jam Shed, J-Harden and Wise Wolf by Banrock Station.
AWL spokesperson Joshua Hartz said Accolade Wines and Pernod Ricard had a long history as wine producers.
“Combining Accolade Wines with the Pernod Ricard assets will create a more certain and financially sustainable future for the business, allowing us to better serve our customers, in more segments and more geographies,” Hartz said in a statement.
“Backed by AWL, the combined business will be better able to adapt to changing consumer tastes and meet the structural challenges facing the global wine industry,” Hartz said.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
“AWL will work with relevant regulators to progress the combination, and if approved, support management to focus on a smooth future integration of the businesses,” it said.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.