Yellow Tail owner Casella fields approaches from potential bidders

Yellow Tail and Peter Lehman brand owner Casella Family Brands (Casella) has has confirmed that it has received a number of approaches from interested parties, though denied it is considering an AU$500m sale.

According to The Australian Financial Review Casella has hired investment bank UBS “to test the appetite of potential buyers”.

However the company said in a statement: “Casella Family Brands has not commenced a sale process for the business.

“There has been strong interest in the sector, driven by the recent sale of Accolade Wines and the rumoured sale of the Pernod Ricard Wine assets, and Casella Family Brands has received a number of approaches over an extended period of time from a range of investors in relation to the Casella Family Brands business.

“The company will continue to invest in the growth of its portfolio of brands including [yellow tail], Peter Lehmann Wines, Brand’s Laira, Morris Wines of Rutherglen and Baileys of Glenrowan.”

Other potential suitors include the Carlyle Group, which now owns Accolade Wines  as well as TPG Capital and PAI Partners, who were outbid by Carlyle for Accolade.

Casella Wines made $473.5m in revenue, with a profit of $31.1m after tax in the year to June 30th 2017, while in the past year UK sales volumes jumped by nearly a quarter (23.9%), with revenue up by 22.2%, and operating profits up from £2.8m to £3.4m. However, the company’s overall global profits dropped by almost half during the 2018 financial year.

Yellowtail exports stand at around 12.5 million cases a year.