ANZ Bank is to take a majority stake in struggling Australian wine producer Evans & Tate.

Through an agreement announced on May 10 the ANZ Bank, which is owed around $AU100m by Evans & Tate, will take a 62% stake in the Western Australian producer.

Under the plan, which requires the approval of Evans & Tate’s shareholders, 409,090,909 shares will be issued to ANZ and a strategic third party co-investor yet to be identified.

Shares will be issued at AU$0.11 (£0.05) per share to raise $AU45m (£18.88m).

Michael Silbert, Evan & Tate’s company secretary, said the proceeds raised should reduce the debt to approximately $AU55m (£23.08m).

He also said ANZ is looking for a co-investor to ‘participate equally with ANZ’, and a share purchase plan would be put in place to raise funds to further reduce the company’s debt.

Meetings of the various shareholders will be held in either July or August. It is possible this agreement will trigger counter bids from other companies.

As reported on decanter.com, a bid by Yarraman Winery collapsed in mid-March this year.

Written by Jim Budd

Jim Budd
Jim Budd
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer & Photographer

Jim Budd moved from education to wine in 1988 and has written for Decanter since 1989. He is the former editor (1991-2015) of Circle Update, the newsletter of the Circle of Wine Writers.  He writes the award-winning www.jimsloire.blogspot.com and is one of the five members of the Les 5 du Vin blog. Budd exposes the dangers of drinks investment on his award-winning www.investdrinks.org website, and complementary www.investdrinks-blog.blogspot.com blog. He also contributes to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, Wine Behind the Label and the Academie du Vin. Budd is a keen photographer – especially in the Loire.