Casella Family Brands has found a buyer for a swathe of its vineyards in Australia, with Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board taking on the assets.
Casella, which owns the Yellow Tail wine brand, served notice in May of its intention to divest around 7,000 hectares and 35 properties across South Australia and New South Wales. The family-owned company confirmed the sale to the pension board’s Southern Premium Vineyards unit earlier this week.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Casella will use the proceeds to “grow its wine business in Australia and internationally” while retaining a “long-term” grape supply arrangement with Southern Premium. The division will add the assets to its existing vineyard footprint, comprising 460 hectares in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and Coonawarra regions.
Six years ago, a similar transaction occurred in Canada, with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan acquiring Constellation Brands Canada for CAD1.03bn [then-US$784m].
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