Pernod Ricard has struck a deal to offload a clutch of wine assets to Australian Wine Holdco Limited (AWL), the owner of Australia-headquartered Accolade Wines.
Financial terms of the deal have been kept private. Subject to regulatory approval, Pernod expects the sale to be completed by the first half of 2025.
The Jameson whiskey maker said the sale of the assets will help it hone in on its global spirits and Champagnes portfolio which “drive the growth of its business”.
In a statement, AWL said the acquisition would build a combined entity with “a more diversified portfolio”.
The deal will include Pernod wine brands such as Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate and Campo Viejo, as well as seven wineries.
The Accolade portfolio includes Hardys, Echo Falls and Jam Shed.
According to Pernod, the wine assets changing hands produce more than 10 million nine-litre cases of wines a year.
The Absolut vodka producer said the transaction will see it “sell its wine division to a player of global scale, with a route to market solely dedicated to the wine industry”.
It added the “wine brands will benefit from the focus required to achieve their potential, reinforce their position, and seize new opportunities around the world”.
Pernod is retaining wine brands including Etchart in Argentina, Chateau Sainte Marguerite in France and Kenwood Vineyards in the US.
AWL describes itself as “a consortium of international institutional investors”, made up of funds from private-equity firms Bain Capital, Sona Asset Management, Samuel Terry Asset Management, Intermediate Capital Group and Capital Four.
The consortium acquired Accolade in February as part of a recapitalisation plan to salvage what was described at the time as the wine group’s “unsustainable balance sheet”.
Joshua Hartz, a spokesperson for AWL and a Bain Capital partner, said today (17 July): “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.
“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.”
Talk that Pernod may reduce its position in wine, or exit the sector completely, has bubbled up for many years.
However, last year, The Australian Financial Review reported the Malibu liqueur producer was in talks with two investment banks to carry out a “strategic review” of its Australian and New Zealand wine units.
At the time, Pernod told Just Drinks the group “continuously explores options” for its assets and that “no decision has been made regarding any particular action”.
In May this year, reports in The Australian and The Australian Financial Review said Pernod and Accolade were in talks over the French group's wine assets in Australia.
In February, The Australian newspaper had named Pernod Ricard’s Australian division as a potential candidate to combine with Accolade, alongside another local wine group, Australian Vintage.
That month, Australian Vintage confirmed it was in “very early” talks over a potential merger with Accolade. It emerged in May those discussions had ended.
