Chinese rice wine giant buys into French wine franchiser

Jinfeng Wine (600615.SH) announced on Dec. 19 it will finance a 70 percent share of French Distribution International de Vins de Bordeaux SAS (DIVA).

According to the announcement, Jinfeng Wine will issue no more than 90.32 million shares of non-public stocks to no more than 10 specific investors including company’s controlling shareholder Shanghai Tangjiu (Group) Co., Ltd (SSCW) with an issuing price no lower than 7.75 yuan per share.

SSCW, a state-owned enterprise group in the food industry founded in Shanghai in 1951, has promised to buy 35 percent of these stocks in cash. Jinfeng Wine, listed in 1992, is a leading producer of traditional rice wine in China.

However, the company is attracted by the increasing demand for imported wine among Chinese consumers and hopes to break into the middle and high-end French wine sector with the acquisition of DIVA.

DIVA is a famous French franchiser of Bordeaux wine, with clients from 7 out of the top 10 French wine chateaux. DIVA has stable consumer resources in over 40 countries and regions worldwide and ranked at the no. 9 among the similar wine agencies in France, reported National Business Daily.

Customs data reveals that imported wine in 2011 increased by 27.78 percent to 36.56 kiloliters, taking about 24 percent of the total wine market.Moreover, about half of wine agented by DIVA is sold in China.

Jinfeng Wine emphasized the increasing investment into rice wine, the major business of the company to raise the core competitiveness and profitability and at the same time to create new profitable business in high-end French wine sales.