Slovak wine with a new sparkle

The biggest wine producer in Slovakia is to change its owner

Vitis Pezinok which produces one third of local wine is to be acquired by the German company Henkell & Söhnlein. This family enterprise with a 150-year tradition owns wine companies from France to Ukraine. Its annual revenues are 600 mil. EUR.

About ten times the revenues of the whole Slovak wine industry. Slovakia is not unknown to the Germans. As at the turn of the century they owned a 60-percent stake in the sparkling wine producer, Hubert J. E. And through this subsidiary they plan to take over the company in Pezinok.

The purchase agreement was signed more than two months ago, but the merger still has to be approved by the Slovak Antimonopoly Office. Before the approval is granted both parties refused to publish any details of the transaction and the new owner would not state its future plans.

“We will inform the public as soon as we receive approval,” said Peter Krúpa, executive officer of Hubert J. E. as well as Dušan Hecht from Vitis. The Germans may help Slovak wine that has been gradually pushed out of its own market by foreign competition. Especially with their much bigger marketing budget.

They have proven they could do this at Hubert where sales are growing. Last year the company filled 6.5 million bottles and its revenues were close to 16 mil. EUR. The new acquisition in Pezinok will improve the performance of the German company by 15 million bottles to almost 250 million bottles.

Translated by Tosca Cicuttova.