Ontario-based Andrew Peller to buy three B.C. wineries for $95M
by The Canadian Press
The deal adds three West Coast wine producers to the company's roster of grape growers in Ontario, Nova Scotia and B.C.
Peller already owns several wineries in B.C. along with estates in Ontario and Nova Scotia. PHOTO: Stefano Lubiana/Flickr
GRIMSBY, Ont.—Andrew Peller Ltd. said Sept. 11 it has signed deals to acquire three B.C. wineries for a combined price of $95 million.
The Ontario-based wine producer says it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Black Hills Estate Winery and Gray Monk Estate Winery and a letter of intent to acquire Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.
Andrew Peller chief executive John Peller says the company has long-admired the three wineries, but the timing of the deals is purely coincidental.
“We’re buying them to invest resources into them so that they can achieve their ultimate goals and visions,” he said.
He says the deal will give the wineries access to capital as well as sales and marketing support that they did not have on their own.
“Our goal is to invest in the culture and legacy that they’ve established and then be in a position where we can add resources to their plans going forward,” he said.
Black Hills Estate is located on the Black Sage Bench region near Oliver, B.C., and is the producer of Nota Bene, a premium red wine.
Gray Monk, founded in 1972, is located north of Kelowna, B.C., while Tinhorn Creek Vineyards is on the Golden Mile Bench, near Oliver.
Peller already owns several wineries in B.C. including Sandhill, Red Rooster Winery and Calona Vineyards as well as wineries in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Andrew Peller said the deal will be funded through a combination of $78 million in cash from the company’s credit lines and $17 million worth of class A common shares.
The company says it expects to close all of the deals by the end of October.
