Montana swallows Corbans

The Montana Group has announced that its Montana Wines subsidiary has agreed to buy Corbans from the DB Group, making Montana by far and away the largest New Zealand wine group. The sale, which involves paying an intra-group debt to DB of approximately $151 million plus assuming a $3 million bank debt, is expected to be completed in mid-November. Montana's statement to the New Zealand stock exchange said: "The directors of Montana consider that the acquisition provides a unique opportunity to merge the two most significant national wine companies into a larger, more internationally competitive company that will continue to lead the New Zealand industry in domestic and international markets. "The enlarged company with its increased grape supply will be better able to fulfil Montana's unsatisfied export opportunities. "Considerable synergy benefits will also be possible given that Montana and Corbans both have vineyards and processing facilities in each of the major wine-growing regions of Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. Each has a head office, bottling and warehousing facilities in east Auckland." DB intends to focus on its core activity of brewing and selling beer.