The market capitalisation of the country’s second-largest listed wine producer, Australian Vintage, has almost halved after the company’s shares resumed trading following a three-week suspension put in place to find emergency financing.

But the chairman of Australian Vintage, Richard Davis, said the 45 per cent share slide was expected. He said the company had made the difficult choice to shore up its balance sheet at a steep discount so it was in a better position to pursue a merger.