Duckhorn has this week announced plans for a stock market listing via an initial public offering.
‘The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,’ it said.
If the offer goes ahead as planned, ‘The Duckhorn Portfolio’ would list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ‘NAPA’ symbol, said the group, which includes Duckhorn Vineyards, Kosta Browne and Decoy wines among others.
It would mark a new chapter for the wine producer, which is owned by private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.
Duckhorn Vineyards was founded in 1976 and the wider group now includes eight wineries and 22 estate vineyards.
According to a registration filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Duckhorn’s net sales for the year ended 31 July 2020 were $270.6m, with net profits of nearly $32.4m.
Alex Ryan, CEO of Duckhorn, said in the filing that the group sold more than 1.4m cases of wine in its 2020 fiscal year.
Vintage Wine Estates to go public via merger deal
Another US wine group, Vintage Wine Estates, said earlier this month it was set to become a publicly traded company after agreeing a merger deal with Bespoke Capital Acquisition Corp.
‘The combined company will be named Vintage Wine Estates, Inc,’ said the groups, which owns wineries in California, Oregon and Washington. Its brands include Qupé, a California specialist in making wines from Rhône grape varieties.
Pat Roney, the CEO and founder of Vintage Wine Estates, will be CEO of the newly formed business.
‘This transaction will not only enable us to invest behind our brands to drive market share where necessary, but it will also fuel the next phase of our rapid growth in the US wine industry,’ he said.
Paul Walsh, Bespoke Capital’s executive chairman and who was previously CEO of global drinks giant Diageo, will become non-executive chairman of the combined company.
If completed as planned, the deal gives the newly formed VWE Inc an implied market value of approximately $690m, plus ‘potential deferred consideration’ of more than $50m, said the groups.
