China’s Cofco to sell winery stake for 11 pence
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China's Cofco conglomerate has said it will sell its controlling stake in Chateau Junding and a related wine subsidiary in the country for just 1 yuan.
- Cofco Chinese winery for sale as firm turns focus to wine imports.
The offer means that it would be possible to buy Cofco’s 55% stake in Junding Winery Co and Shandong Cofco Junding Wines & Spirits Co in Shandong province for 1 RMB, the equivalent of 11 British pence or 15 US cents.
However, the caveat is that the buyer must also pick up the debt of those two wine ventures, equal to 392m yuan (£42m).
The money would be owed to Cofco, the firm said in a stock exchange filing this week.
Cofco’s move to sell the businesses in Shandong province come as the Chinese firm focuses more strongly on imported wines. It also has a separate winemaking business, Great Wall, which is unaffected by the changes.
Junding Winery Co, also known as Chateau Junding, is a 400 hectare estate established in 2006 and including golf courts, undeground cellars, tasting rooms and shops.
The estate attempted to attract luxury consumers, but has reportedly been hit by the Chinese government’s well-documented anti-corruption and austerity policies.
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Some media commentators have also suggested that Cofco’s Junding has struggled to compete with a similar tourism facility owned by rival wine producer Changyu in Shandong.
Additional reporting and translation by Sylvia Wu
Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.