The single largest stakeholder in BRL Hardy Ltd, the International Wine Investment Fund (IWI), has been subject to some unfair reporting according to Chris Day, chief executive of Berren Asset Management, the entity responsible for operating the fund. Some shareholders have been aggressively pursuing the line in the media that the company was negligent for selling down its stake in BRL from 12.5% to 10.29% late last year when BRL’s share price was trading at a 30-month low. When they discovered that the sold shares were replaced at the same time by options, they then accused IWI of insider trading! Little wonder Chris Day reckons that sometimes it’s hard to win. The company was forced to reduce its actual shareholding in BRL because the company’s (then) falling share price caused it to go above its permitted 30% debt to equity ratio. The first half profit to December 31 reported by IWI was down to A$1.15m (US$690,000) from A$3.54m for the same period the previous year, although now that the IWIF’s shareholders have approved the deal, the Constellation offer has added more than A$80m to the fund’s net tangible assets.
