Unable to keep its name out of the news, Foster’s has finally put both it and Wine Planet out of their joint misery. Victim to an outdated and unproven model of Internet business, Wine Planet has been waiting for a bullet for a considerable time, while Foster’s has finally admitted its costly blunder in entering Internet wine retail and directly taking on major players like Coles Myer, in whose stores its own product range has copped a major shellacking. A generous offer of 35 cents a share has effectively taken the struggling online retailer out of the market. Foster’s has said it will dispose of the Wine Planet domestic business and would review the employment of present employees. The company’s hard assets of liquor stores and other businesses are to be sold off, while compatible parts of its technology will be interwoven into the Cellarmasters system. Foster’s offered another $42 million for the acquisition, which was largely offset by the $40 million cash remaining within Wine Planet.
