News Briefs for June 3, 2013
June 3, 2013•Anheuser-Busch InBev announced the expiration of a tender offer by subsidiary Anheuser-Busch Mexico Holdings to acquire all outstanding shares of Grupo Modelo it doesn’t already own. The price was $9.15 a share. With the expiration, roughly 1.97 billion shares had been tendered, representing approximately 89% of Modelo’s outstanding Series C shares not previously owned by A-B InBev. A-B InBev and its affiliates now hold about 95% of Modelo’s outstanding shares. A-B InBev will now establish a trust to accept submissions by Modelo shareholders who didn’t participate in the tender offer.
•Chile’s Concha y Toro reported a 0.3% rise in net income for the first quarter (ended March 31, 2013) to CL$5.24 billion ($10.5m). The company’s sales were up 2.5%, from CL$88.86 billion ($177.4m) to CL$91.08 billion ($181.8m). Despite a recent port strike in Chile—which stalled shipments of 165,000 cases—and the impact of the strengthening peso, export sales rose 3.6% on the same period in 2012. In the U.S., Concha y Toro’s Fetzer operations continue to rebound, with sales for the California-based unit increasing 5.2% to CL$11.06 billion ($22.1m), and export and domestic volumes up 0.4% and 14.6%, respectively. The Fetzer unit, which sells roughly 1.5 million cases in the U.S. market, includes the Fetzer, Bonterra, Five Rivers, Jekel, Sanctuary and Little Black Dress wine brands, among others.
•Palm Bay has unveiled new packaging for its estate-bottled Bottega Vinaia wines. The new look, now in national distribution, features a drawing of each vineyard on the respective label, as well as a gold-foiled butterfly symbolizing the shape of the Trentino region. The limited-production range—created by Anselmo Martini, lead winemaker at Cavit winery—includes a Teroldego Rotaliano, a Pinot Noir and a Lagrein (all three are priced at $19.99), as well as a Pinot Grigio (priced at $17.99). The packaging rollout comes on the heels of Palm Bay also updating the looks of both Cavit and Citra. Concurrently, Palm Bay has introduced Bottega Vinaia Gewürztraminer ($17.99), sourced from vineyards in Roverè della Luna and the Adige Valley.
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