GE boosts CHAMP-backed Accolade with $234m loan

The facility, administered by GE's UK and Australian arms, is designed to increase Accolade's working capital and capital expenditure as its grows internationally.

In January 2011, Australian private equity firm CHAMP bought 80% of Accolade (formerly known as Constellation Wines) in a deal which saw it take control of the firm's Australian and European arms, including its South African brands, wineries and vineyards.

The biggest wine firm by volume in Australia and the UK, Accolade's brands include Hardys and Banrock Station in Australia, Kumala and Fish Hoek in South Africa and Echo Falls in the US.

Adam Johnson, managing director at GE Capital, commented: "Our strong presence in both the UK and Australia enabled us to work closely with CHAMP to provide the 'one-stop-shop' support that was needed, without involving multiple financiers."

News of this deal comes after fellow Australian wine business Treasury Wine Estates received - and rejected - a $2.5 billion buyout offer from Cerberus Capital Management in September 2010. Other private equity firms to express interest in the company, a unit of Foster's Group, Australia's largest beer maker, included KKR and TPG Capital.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Restructuring
• Consumer
• CHAMP Private Equity
• Australia
• Cerberus Capital Management
• KKR
• TPG Capital
• Structured finance
• Consumer