Formal bids made for Treasury

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has received formal takeover offers from two private equity firms, according to the Australian Financial Review.

US firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and TPG Capital, a private investment firm based in Texas, are both said to be offering around AU$5.20 ($4.57) per share.

KKR previously submitted a bid in May at $4.70 a share which was rejected prompting the firm to up its bid to $5.20, with TPG then stepping into the ring with a counter offer of the same value.

TWE’s shares are currently valued at A$4.92 per share on the Australian Securities Exchange.

An agreement on this basis would represent a deal worth AU$3.4bn (£1.88bn; $3.17bn).

Treasury Wine Estates, which is behind brands including Penfolds, Wolf Blass and other leading Australian wine brands, has been struggling for sometime and recently announced an impairment of over AU$200 million from its assets.

While the offer was announced in August, formal offers from both parties have now been accepted having completed “due diligence” requirements.