San Miguel pays P448M for Aussie bottler

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is paying $11.5 million Australian dollars (P448 million) for the acquisition of 100 percent of South Australian bottler Barossa Bottling Services Pty. Ltd. (Barossa).

Barossa is a specialist and independent contract wine bottling and packaging facility serving artisan wineries in Australia’s Barossa, Eden and Clare Valleys, Adelaide Hills and the Riverland.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, SMC said the purchase price was based on a certain cash flow multiple, discounted cash flow and net asset value.

It agreed to acquire all of Barossa’s 200,100 shares at Australian dollar (AUD) 57.47 per share. Some $10.35 million AUD was paid on June 30 while the remainder will be paid on July 31.

The acquisition was made by San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd. (SMYPIL) through its Australian subsidiary, San Miguel Yamamura Australasia Pty Ltd.

With this new acquisition, SMC’s packaging group expects the contribution of its Australian and New Zealand businesses reach close to 300 million Australian dollars (P11.6 billion).

“We remain bullish on the Australasian market and will continue to look for bigger and better opportunities in that region. In the meantime, our Philippine operations will continue to expand to meet growing domestic and export demands,” SMC president Ramon Ang said in a press statement on Thursday.

Based on its website, Barossa offers integrated services from bulk wine arrival to finished goods distribution. It operates one filling line that runs at around 2,700 bottles per hour. It has tank storage capacity on site utilizing a combination of storage vessels for around 130 kiloliters. It has likewise developed a niche in the filling and labelling of large-format bottles including 1.5, 3 -and 6-liter bottles.