Australian Vintage confirms Accolade Wines talks

Accolade Wines has been in talks about a merger with Australian Vintage. Picture: iStock

Australian Vintage has confirmed that it remains in talks with Accolade Wines.

The company said in a statement on Monday that it remains in “exploratory discussions with Accolade”.

However, it said, the discussions were still at a very early stage and there was no certainty a transaction would eventuate.

It comes after DataRoom reported on Monday that the pair have been in talks.

DataRoom reported on Monday the investment case for Accolade Wines’ new owner AWL – a consortium led by Bain Capital – was based on being able to merge with either of Australian Vintage or Pernod Ricard’s Australia and New Zealand business.

Australian Vintage said in its half-year result last week that as part of its strategic review, transformational opportunities, including mergers, were still in their early stages.

As reported by this column earlier in the year, a Bain Capital-led consortium has finalised its recapitalisation of Accolade Wines, which was struggling with too much debt.

The Carlyle Group, which bought the business in 2018 for about $1bn, is now out of its investment and Australian Wine Holdco is the new owner.

AWL comprises Bain, Intermediate Capital Group, Capital Four, Sona Asset Management and Terry Asset Management.

E&P Corporate Advisory is working for Australian Vintage, which has a market value of about $90m and has brands including Tempus Two and McGuigan.