Grover Zampa Vineyards Ltd and one of its investors, Dubai-based Quintela Assets Ltd, have bought Charosa Wineries Ltd for Rs 1.76 crore (around $250,000) from engineering and construction firm Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC).
HCC, which sold Charosa through wholly-owned subsidiary HCC Real Estate Ltd, said in a stock-exchange disclosure that the sale is in line with its strategy to shed non-core business assets.
HCC said in its latest annual report, “Charosa Wineries has incurred losses and its net worth has fully eroded as on 31 March 2018. The management of Charosa has implemented certain cost-savings schemes and is in the process of negotiating with the lenders for debt restructuring.”
The revenue of Charosa Wineries stood at Rs 2.33 crore for the year through March 2018, down from Rs 3.53 crore for the previous year. Charosa Wineries narrowed its loss slightly to Rs 29 crore from Rs 30 crore during the period.
Charosa Wineries started manufacturing and selling premium wines in the Indian market, from October 2013. The company’s vineyard is spread over 230 acres in the Nashik district, according to its website.
Grover Zampa is India’s second-largest wine maker, after Sula Vineyards. The company was set up in 1988 by Kanwal Grover. Before its merger with Nashik-based winery Vallée de Vin in 2012, the firm was known as Grover Vineyards.
The wine maker is backed by Singapore-based investor Ravi Viswanathan, Reliance Capital, AVT Group and Quintela. In October last year, Grover Zampa raised Rs 60 crore in a funding round led by Viswanathan.
Last month, Grover Zampa and its investor Quintela acquired Four Seasons Wines from United Spirits.
Apart from Sula and Grover Zampa, other companies in the wine segment include Fratelli Wines, York Wines, John Distilleries Pvt. Ltd and Diageo’s global rival, Pernod Ricard.
Some of these companies, and a few others in the broader alcoholic beverages segment, have raised funding in the recent past.
Last month, US-based spirits maker Sazerac Company bought out mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital from John Distilleries.
In October, Belgian family-owned consumer-focused investment company Verlinvest increased its stake in Sula in a deal that also saw an American family office come as a new investor.
In July, IIFL Asset Management Ltd invested in craft beer maker White Owl Brewery Pvt Ltd, marking the mid-market private equity firm’s debut deal in the alcoholic beverages segment. Craft beer is a beer made in a traditional or non-mechanised way by a small brewery.
Venture capital firms Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners last year backed craft beer maker Goa Brewcrafts Pvt. Ltd. This was the second bet by Saama Capital on an alcoholic beverage company; it had previously invested in Sula.
In May, B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd, which makes craft beer under the brand Bira 91, raised Rs 335 crore in a funding round led by Belgium-based investment firm Sofina.
