Buyout firms go head to head over Australian wine business

Two global private equity giants are set to face off in a battle for Australia's Treasury Wine Estates Ltd after TPG Capital Management matched a $3.1 billion move from KKR & Co for one of the world's biggest winemakers.

A week after KKR teamed with Rhone Capital to propose a AU$5.20 a share offer for Treasury, the owner of the Penfolds, Lindemans and Wolf Blass brands said it had received a second, identical approach from a global private equity firm which requested anonymity. The buyout firm behind the second proposal, for a firm that expects massive writedowns from problems in US and China operations, was TPG, a source said.

The prospect of competing bids by two of the world’s biggest private equity investors sent Treasury’s shares 4 per cent higher. – (Reuters)