wine

An unnamed equity investor has made an offer to acquire Australian winemaker Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) at a similar price of $5.20 cash per share offered by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Rhône Capital last week.

Both the buyout offers value the Australian wine making firm at $3.15bn.

TWE said in a statement: "The Board of TWE has concluded that it is in the interests of its shareholders to engage further with this private equity investor.

"The proposal is subject to due diligence and conditional on a number of other matters equivalent to the previously announced proposal."

If an offer is finalised, the board will evaluate whether it will provide a value proposition that is superior to the expected benefits from management’s renewed strategic plans, the company said.

In April, KKR made a $2.9bn offer for TWE; however, it was rejected saying that the offer undervalued the company.

Earlier this month, the US-based private equity investment firm increased its offer by $0.50 per share to $5.20.

In May, TWE unveiled plans to increase investment in consumer marketing and step up selling and execution capabilities in line with its plans to drive sustainable profit growth.

The proposed investments will be generated through a comprehensive overhead and cost reduction programme.

Image: Treasury Wine Estates is engaged in viticulture and winemaking. Photo: courtesy of John Kasawa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.