Constellation Brands
In the closing days of 2016, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan completed the acquisition of Constellation Brands’ Canadian wine business for $1.03 billion (CDN).
It represents the return to Canadian ownership of the country’s largest wine business, and the “market leader in Canada with approximately three times the market share of its closest competitor and 7 of the top 20 wine brands.”
With production facilities in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, the company boasts eight wineries - 3 commercial and 5 estate – as well as 1,700 acres of vineyards and 163 Wine Rack stores throughout Ontario. In B.C., premium wines are produced at Jackson-Triggs Okanagan, Inniskillin Wines, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery and See Ya Later Ranch. Ontario Teachers continues their partnership in the joint venture with Osoyoos Indian Band, majority owners of the Nk’Mip Cellars.
In 2005, Constellation Brands, a publicly-traded, U.S. company based in Victor, New York, a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, acquired Canada’s Mississauga-based, publicly-traded Vincor International. The recent deal with Ontario Teachers brings ownership of Canada’s largest wine company back to Canadian hands. An independent organization headquartered in Toronto, the fully-funded, defined benefit plan, which invests and administers the pensions of Ontario’s 316,000 active members and retired teachers and holds a diverse global portfolio.
According to BC wine pioneer Harry McWatters the purchase is a natural progression for both Constellations’ Canadian wine business and Ontario Teachers. “I am thrilled by the repatriation,” says McWatters, who founded Sumac Ridge, See Ya Later Ranch, and Encore Vineyards.
“After all, Ontario Teachers ranked as Vincor International’s largest shareholder before the 2005 sale. I think that the pension plan has been watching and waiting for this opportunity.”
Also, they have brought back the same president as before, Jay Wright, who has moved back to Canada from the U.S. operation. “It is quite a bit of change but most of the employees I know are encouraged,” he says.