More wine is the last thing Foster's Group Ltd. needs. So no wonder Foster's chairman David Crawford told Reuters that the company has not considered acquiring anything from larger rival Constellation Brands Inc., which recently put some of its Australian wine brands up for sale and has also been shedding
U.S. wine brands.
In fact, Australia's largest brewer is exploring a possible sale or spinoff of its wine business. Forster's
posted a 9.4% loss in the second half, partly because of write-downs on the wine business of $276 million, according to
Reuters.
Acting CEO Ian Johnston, a nonexecutive director, is leading the company through a strategic alternative review of the
wine business as
the company conducts a search for a new CEO. CEO Trevor O'Hoy
resigned in June after the integration of the $2.5 billion acquisition of
Southcorp failed and the company admitted it paid too much to acquire wine assets. Credit Suisse Group analyst Larry Gandler values the wine operations at
$3.55 billion.
- Maria Woehr
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