Evans & Tate has spent A$3.6 million to buy small Yarra Valley wine maker Oakridge Vineyards. Oakridge undertook a successful fund raising a few years ago, in which stakeholders were offered the ability to buy wines at a price less than retail, but more than wholesale. Perhaps then it’s not that surprising that those who took up this offer were only too happy to pass the baton to Evans & Tate. Oakridge also recorded a net loss of A$177,429 in 1999-2000. Evans & Tate executive chairman Franklin Tate expects the deal to be earnings per share positive in the first year. Key Evans & Tate director and significant shareholder Mike Calneggia has resigned from the company to pursue his own viticultural interests, which include the Gnangara vineyard project in Pemberton, reputedly the largest such development in Western Australia.
