With its takeover of Lion Nathan now complete, it remains to be seen what Japan’s Kirin Holdings will make of a wine division that accounts for just 7% of its total sales but includes significant operations in Australia and New Zealand. On October 7, a Federal Court judge cleared the way for Kirin to acquire all shares in the brewer/winemaker for A$3.3bn, with non-Kirin stakeholders to receive A$11.5 in cash per share. Back in 2001 Lion Nathan purchased a controlling interest in Petaluma Ltd, which included Smithbrook (whose facilities but not brand were recently purchased by Peter Fogarty, owner of Millbrook and Lake’s Folly), Stonier and Mitchelton, adding it to the former Banksia labels of St Hallett and Tatachilla. A year later it bought the high-flying New Zealand brand of Wither Hills. The company, which recently promoted its commercial director, James Brindley, to the post of its Australian managing director, has repeatedly said that its wine division is not for sale, especially in these economic circumstances. Lion Nathan Chief Executive Rob Murray has said that ‘there is still an opportunity to sell those businesses for a lot more (in the future)’. He has also suggested that company shareholders would not appreciate buying wine businesses at the peak of the cycle, only to sell them at the ‘absolute bottom of the market’. The global downturn, which has seen sales of top-end wines fall in most markets, has seen the profit of Lion Nathan’s wine division drop by 55.7%.
