Treasury Wine Estates
Encyclopedia
Treasury Wine Estates
is an Australia
n-based global winemaking
and distribution business. Headquartered in Southbank
, Melbourne
, Victoria
, and until a demerger in May 2011 was the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group
.
Foster's began to build its wine division from 1995 onwards. Through acquisition, it built the division in to one of the worlds largest wine makers. In 2005, it acquired the Australian wine-making group Southcorp, adding famous brands including Penfolds
, Lindemans
and Rosemount
, and around A$
1 billion to revenues. Beringer Blass is the seventh largest producer of wine in the United States
.
However, the division was always both a poor performing business, and often a cash drain on the highly profitable brewing business. On 10th June 2008, Foster's CEO Trevor O'Hoy
resigned after poor performance by the wine division. By 2011, the company had written down the value of the wines division by half since it acquired it at the peak of the market, leaving it worth about ASD$3.1 billion.
After further difficulties in the division resulting in an additional ASD$1.3 billion write-down in early 2011, at a meeting in Melbourne on 29 April 2011, 99% of Fosters Group shareholders agreed to split Fosters Group business in to two separate brewing and wines companies. Treasury Wine Estates officially became a separately listed company on 9 May 2011, with David Dearie as its CEO. The scheme of arrangement for the demerger of Treasury Wine Estates from Foster's Group was implemented on 20 May 2011.
Treasury Wine Estates
Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian-based global winemaking and distribution business. Headquartered in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria, and until a demerger in May 2011 was the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group.-History:...
is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-based global winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
and distribution business. Headquartered in Southbank
Southbank, Victoria
Southbank is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located direct south of the Yarra River opposite Melbourne's Hoddle Grid. The northernmost area is considered part of the Central Business District and Central Activities District of the city. Its Local Government Area are the...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and until a demerger in May 2011 was the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group
Foster's Group
Foster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
.
History
Treasury Wine Estates traces its roots back to the establishment of Penfolds in Australia in the mid 1840s to the 1876 founding of Beringer Vineyards, a winemaking legacy has been created.Foster's began to build its wine division from 1995 onwards. Through acquisition, it built the division in to one of the worlds largest wine makers. In 2005, it acquired the Australian wine-making group Southcorp, adding famous brands including Penfolds
Penfolds
Penfolds is an Australian wine producer, founded in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife, Mary Penfold...
, Lindemans
Lindemans (wine)
Lindeman's is an Australian winery, owned by Treasury Wine Estates. It was founded in 1843 by Henry Lindeman who planted its first vines in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. This original vineyard no longer exists, and the winery now has vineyards in South Australia , in Padthaway and at...
and Rosemount
Rosemount (wine)
Rosemount is an Australian winery based in Hunter Valley and South Australia, owned by Treasury Wine Estates. At the turn of the 21st century, Rosemount was the second best selling Australian wine brand in the US.-History:...
, and around A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
1 billion to revenues. Beringer Blass is the seventh largest producer of wine in the United States
American wine
American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 89 percent of all US wine...
.
However, the division was always both a poor performing business, and often a cash drain on the highly profitable brewing business. On 10th June 2008, Foster's CEO Trevor O'Hoy
Trevor O'Hoy
Trever O'Hoy was the President and CEO of Foster's Group from 2004 until 10 June 2008.He was educated at Monash University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics in 1976. He has also studied at the Harvard Advanced Management Program....
resigned after poor performance by the wine division. By 2011, the company had written down the value of the wines division by half since it acquired it at the peak of the market, leaving it worth about ASD$3.1 billion.
After further difficulties in the division resulting in an additional ASD$1.3 billion write-down in early 2011, at a meeting in Melbourne on 29 April 2011, 99% of Fosters Group shareholders agreed to split Fosters Group business in to two separate brewing and wines companies. Treasury Wine Estates officially became a separately listed company on 9 May 2011, with David Dearie as its CEO. The scheme of arrangement for the demerger of Treasury Wine Estates from Foster's Group was implemented on 20 May 2011.