Any remaining obstacles to the take-over of BRL Hardy by US giant Constellation Brands are fast being removed. Yesterday the shareholders of the company’s largest single stake owner, the listed International Wine Investment Fund, unanimously accepted Constellation’s offer. Although Chris Day, chief executive of Berren Asset Management, the responsible entity for operating the fund, described the price as a ‘knockout’, and suggests that they ‘wouldn’t get a better price for a number of years’, one wonders what long-term benefit it is sacrificing by not attempting to acquire shares in Constellation itself. I still have problems understanding why companies set up to invest in wine are more interested in short-term gain than long-term benefit, which has been the historical strength of the wine industry for centuries.
