Treasury Wine to Buy Diageo's Wine Operations

SYDNEY—Australian vintner Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. said it will buy Diageo PLC's U.S. and U.K. wine operations for a cash payment of US$552 million.

Treasury Wine Chief Executive Michael Clarke said the acquisition will transform the firm's U.S. business into a "larger player of scale" in the luxury and masstige segments of the high-growth U.S. market.

"The additional supply of luxury and masstige wine will be a game-changer for our U.S. brands, providing us with an immediate opportunity to step-change our growth in the U.S., Canada, Asia and Latin America," he said.

Treasury Wine Estates plans to largely fund the deal via a 486 million Australian dollar (US$350 million) share offer, with the balance funded by new U.S. dollar denominated debt facilities. Under the entitlement offer, shareholders will receive two new shares for every 15 existing shares held.

The deal also includes the assumption of capitalised leases of US$48 million, taking the total deal value to US$600 million, Treasury Wine said.

The acquisition is subject to certain regulatory approvals, including antitrust approval in the U.S., and is expected to complete in about three months.

Write to Rebecca Thurlow at [e-mail]

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October 13, 2015 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT)

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