Foster's Group has put a unit of Southcorp on the block. The news is buried at the bottom of the highly speculative reports that InBev and SABmiller may be interested in buying the Australian brewer. In the land down under, maybe journalism's inverted pyramid is also upside down because the plan to sell the direct-to-consumer wine business is the real news, while the reports about a buyout are purely market rumors. At any rate, Foster's has put its club wine business on the block because it has not seen the expected revenue increase from its A$3.2 billion ($2.4 billion) acquisition of vintner Southcorp, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Following the deal, a global wine glut developed leading to a meager 1% sales increase in the acquired wine business. The company has told investors to expect the glut to continue for up to two years, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Consequently, Foster's expects to fetch up to A$500 million for its direct retail business, which sells under the Cellarmasters brand in Australia and the Windsor Vineyards brand in the United States. The news of the sale has intensified market speculation that the company could be prepping for a sale. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from Sydney Morning Herald
See story from The Australian
See Southcorp-Foster's deal memo from Deal Focus
See related story from The Deal
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