Drinks Americas Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire Global Beverages Asia Ltd.(2)
By 2009-3-24 8:57:56
The combined company will operate from offices in New York, London, Sydney, Australia, and Shanghai. Michael Kingshott is expected to join Drinks Americas as Chairman of the Board, and Patrick Kenny will become President and CEO of the combined operations.
About Drinks Americas
Drinks Americas was founded in 2004 by J. Patrick Kenny, a leading expert in beverage sales and marketing. Mr. Kenny developed his industry expertise in a variety of management positions at the world's leading beverage companies, including Joseph E. Seagram & Sons and The Coca-Cola Company. He has also acted as advisor to several Fortune 500 beverage marketing companies, and has participated in several major beverage industry transactions.
Drinks Americas' portfolio of premium alcoholic beverages includes, Old Whiskey River Bourbon, Olifant Vodka, Kid Rock Beer, Trump Vodka and a selection of spirits brands in partnership with Interscope. The Company's non-alcoholic brands include the distribution of Paul Newman's Own Lightly Sparkling Fruit Juice Drinks and Flavored Waters. Other products owned and distributed by Drinks Americas include award-winning Damiana Liqueur, Aguila Tequila, Cognac Leyrat and Rheingold Beer. This is the second acquisition Drinks Americas has pursued this year, having completed the acquisition of Olifant Vodka earlier in the year. Please visit their website at http://drinksamericas.com.
About ADSL
The main country of operation is in the People's Republic of China. ADSL provides distribution for foreign and PRC companies to import and sell their branded beverage and food products in China. The company also provides procurement and logistic solutions to supermarkets, hotels and clubhouses, selected high-street restaurants and bars, cafes and bakeries, together with beverage wholesalers and retailers, generally referred to in the trade industry as on-premises or HORECA (hotel, restaurant and cafe) accounts.
The company distributes a range of branded beverages, including Heineken and Tiger beers and Snapple's fruit drinks. The business started in 1998 in Shanghai, the largest and fastest growing regional beverage market in China. The company's management has been able to quickly capture a large share of this rapidly growing market by supporting foreign brands that seek local distribution but are hindered by the range of complex regulations, diverse distribution networks, widely scattered consumer demand centers and a range of local taste preferences. For further information, please see http://www.asiadistributionsolutions.com
About Yarraman
Yarraman Estate P/L. is one of the oldest vineyards and wineries in the Upper Hunter Valley which is Australia's oldest wine growing region dating back to the early 1800s. Yarraman award winning wines are sold in the Unites States, Australia, Europe and throughout the Pacific Rim. In the United States, there are approximately 30,000 cases of Yarraman's award- winning wines sold annually that will be added to Drinks Americas' US portfolio and distribution system.
Yarraman Estate vineyard was established in 1958 and now produces and sells premium (up to US$14 per 75cl bottle), super-premium (up to US$20 per 75cl bottle) and ultra-premium (over US$20 per 75cl bottle) wines. The wines are made at the Yarraman winery in New South Wales, Australia, where grapes are crushed, fermented and made into wine or blended with wines purchased from other vineyards for production of varietals. Wines are sold both in Australia and internationally, principally under the "Yarraman" label. The vineyards from which Yarraman produces wines are located in two regions, Wybong in the Upper Hunter Valley New South Wales, Australia and the Gundagai Region in the Central Highlands of New South Wales.
The Upper Hunter Valley: The Wybong vineyard has a total of approximately 638 acres, of which 187 acres are under vine and approximately 13 acres are utilized for the winery. The Yarraman Winery was opened in 1967 and currently has a 2,300 ton processing facility, 1.5 million litres storage with the capacity to yield 160,000 cases. Only 50% of this capacity is currently being utilized. The winery utilizes current technology in its harvesting, production and packaging of its products. Over US $10 million has been invested since 1994 on capital improvements to the winery and vineyard. For further information, please see http://www.yarramanestate.com
The Jugiong Vineyard property was established by a group of private investors in 1998 and is located over two blocks of land totaling 650 acres comprising the Wirrilla Homestead and Wirrilla Point Block, with 475 acres under vines.
Forward Looking Statements
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by the Company or on its behalf. This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described. These factors, and others, are discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made.
The practice of Hollywood studios remaking movies in foreign languages is not new. When talkies began, studios sought ways to keep silent films' international audiences. One solution was practiced by Laurel and Hardy who, in the 1930s, would shoot five versions of a movie — in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. And while Bela Lugosi shot the 1931 "Dracula" during the day, Carlos Villarías played the title role for the Spanish-language version on the same sets each night.
Soon, though, dubbed movies took over, and Hollywood became more enamored of remaking foreign films for domestic audiences. From "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960 (originally Japan's "Shichinin No Samurai") to 1980s comedies like "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" based on French films, remakes became a fact of Hollywood life. In the past 10 years Japan has emerged as the prime source of all things remakable, particularly horror films like "The Grudge" and "The Ring" (or "Ju-on: The Grudge" and "Ringu," respectively), while foreign film industries like Bollywood have been ripping off American films. ("My Best Friend's Wedding"? That's "Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.") "Sideways" is a fully sanctioned remake, done with the blessing of the original filmmakers — sort of. "I don't know a damn thing about it, but I hope it's better than the original," joked Alexander Payne, the co-writer and director of "Sideways." "No, I'm really delighted. I got a check for it, and the check cleared."
In other words, Mr. Payne, who has an executive producer credit on the Japanese version ("Oh, I do?"), had nothing to do with the remake, because the standard movie contract grants studios the right to do whatever they want with their product "in perpetuity." Still, Mr. Payne received a courtesy call about this project from Fox.
"I cared desperately about 'Sideways' while making it, but now it's behind me," he explained. "So it has its own life, and if part of its life is having a twin in a parallel universe, then so be it."
As much as "Sideways" belongs to Mr. Payne and his co-writer, Jim Taylor, the Japanese version is, like an American indie, close to the heart of Mr. Gluck, who is of Japanese and American descent and spent much of his childhood attending American schools in Japan. Mr. Gluck's bilingual film experience dates to 1989, when he assisted on "Black Rain," the Ridley Scott film about an American police officer (Michael Douglas) in Japan
From marketwatch.com
