NAPA -- Australia-based Foster's Group Ltd. today said it renamed its Napa-based global wine group, set for a "demerger" sometime next year, as Treasury Wine Estates.
Foster's Chief Executive Officer Ian Johnston said the rebranding of Foster's Wine Estates doesn't change the company's intention to spin off the wine group, or change the business model.
"It does, however, represent the acceleration of a cultural change for those of us working in the wine business as we return to a dedicated focus on viticulture, wine making and the marketing and sale of one of the world’s most outstanding portfolios," he said in a statement.
The move was recommended in an internal review in early 2009 and announced as a plan in May of this year.
Foster's assembled its wine business via acquisitions of Mildara Blass and Rothbury Wines in 1996, Beringer Wine Estates in 2001 and Southcorp in 2005.
The group includes 20 wineries, 50 wine brands and nearly 30,000 acres of vines in California, Australia, France, Italy and New Zealand. Local brands include Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, Stag's Leap, Souverain, Etude, Cellar No. 8 and Taz.
