Wine firm looks for equity partner for expansion

Leading producer of bulk wines Nira Valley is looking out for equity partners to raise Rs 25 crore to Rs 35 crore investment for its major expansion plans spread over next three years.

Nira Valley Grape Wines, a firm based in Baramati, Pune plans to produce 25 lakh litres of wine during the present financial year and would acquire a 250 acre vineyard for the same.

Nira Valley on Wednesday launched two brands of bottled wine namely Celesta and neVista in Pune. The two brands would be available in across Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Speaking to Business Standard, Nira Valley chairman BR Shende said, "After establishing a strong position in bulk wine market, we have planned a major foray into bottled wine segment. For this, we will acuire 250 acres of a new vineyard while a vineyard of 200 acres will provide us grapes on a contractual basis."

Shende added, the firm is looking at equity partners for this expasion plan. "We are open to any investor that buy 20 to 25 per cent fo stake in Nira Valley. We want to raise up to Rs 35 crore through this deal. Once this happens, then the future plans would be executed immediately," he added.

The newly launched wine brands would be priced between Rs 160 and Rs 380 per 750 ml bottles. The Celesta brand would be available in six varieties while neVista would be a standalone variety.

"We own a 250 cre vineyard nera Baramati and have invested Rs 20 crore this year for as part of expansion plans. We also draw grapes from a 400 acre vineyard on a contract basis. Our expansion plans would require further investment of Rs 40 crore over next two years, which would be met through equity selling and in-house fund generation," he stated.