Rabobank Advises Grupo Osborne S.A. on Strategic Business Alliance With The Wine...

Rabobank Advises Grupo Osborne S.A. on Strategic Business Alliance With The
Wine Group to Launch New Spanish Wine Brands in the U.S.
-- Headquartered in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, Grupo Osborne S.A.
("Osborne") is one of the leading wine producers in Spain and the second
largest player in the Spanish wine segment in the U.S.

NEW YORK, April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabobank, the leading financial
services provider to the global food and agribusiness industry, is pleased to
announce that it acted as exclusive financial advisor to Osborne its strategic
business alliance with The Wine Group in the United States.
The transaction was executed by the New York-based Mergers and
Acquisitions Advisory group of Rabobank International, a division of Rabobank
Nederland.
In addition to the launch of new Spanish wine brands, TWG becomes the new
exclusive distributor of Osborne wine portfolio, which includes Montecillo
(Rioja), Solaz (Tierra de Castilla region), Osborne (Jerez y Oporto), Senorio
del Cid (Ribera del Duero y Rueda) and other brands of brandies and spirits.
Two of Osborne brands, Montecillo and Solaz, currently rank among the top five
Spanish wine brands in the U.S. market.
Thanks to this strategic alliance, Osborne will improve its ability to
pursue new opportunities, to partner with or acquire other Spanish wine
producers in order to broaden its portfolio and scale, and to enhance its
leading position in the U.S. market for Spanish wines.
Headquartered in San Francisco (California), private, management-owned TWG
is the third largest wine producer in the world, with sales of approximately
55 million cases, including the Franzia brand (24 million cases) and other
prestigious brands such as Concannon, Fish Eye, Big House, Cardinal Zin, Glen
Ellen and Grey Fox in the premium segment.
In 2008, TWG has announced the acquisition of an important group of
brands, including Almaden and Inglenook, adding some 10 million cases to its
portfolio.
David Kent, CEO of TWG commented: "this association combines two excellent
organizations with a strong ability to pursue the opportunity offered by the
huge potential of the Spanish wine in the U.S. market."
Fritz Lance, President of Underdog Wine Merchant ("UWM"), TWG's subsidiary
focused on the sale of premium wines, commented: "We welcome Osborne into our
dynamic family of privately-held international companies which we are proud to
represent in the U.S. Osborne is an ideal strategic fit with our core strategy
of promoting the great wine regions and producers of the world to a new
generation of American consumers."
In 2006, UWM formed a strategic business alliance with Le Grand Chais de
France, producer of the best selling brand JP Chenet. Key UWM import brands
include Pinot Evil (Corsica, France), A Mano (Puglia, Italy), Casarsa (Friuli,
Italy), Herding Cats (Western Cape, South Africa), Now & Zen (Alsace, France),
Kiwi Cuvee (Loire, France), Santa Ana (Mendoza, Argentina), Chockstone (Yarra
Valley, Australia) and Silver Birch (Marlborough, New Zealand).
Tomas Osborne, Chairman of Osborne, commented: "TWG is a company that, in
addition to his world-class size, is swift, dynamic and extremely customer-
oriented, with an entrepreneurial approach that is totally shared by Osborne."
Ignacio Osborne, CEO of Osborne, commented: "The present agreement is a
major milestone in Osborne's strategy aimed at growing our wine business and
increasing our competitive position both as a producer and international
player."
Rabobank (www.Rabobank.com) is the premier bank to the global food,
beverage and agribusiness industries, providing a full array of credit,
capital markets and M&A advisory services and products to the industry's
leading companies worldwide. Within the global M&A arena, Rabobank has a
significant financial sponsors practice, in particular working with financial
sponsors in the food, beverage and consumer sectors on both the buy and sell
sides. From its century-old roots as a Dutch farmers' cooperative, Rabobank
has grown into the world's 25th largest bank with assets in excess of USD 800
billion, operations in 37 countries, and 56,000 employees. Rabobank has a
triple A credit rating from both Standard & Poor's (AAA) and Moody's Investors
Service (Aaa).
SOURCE Rabobank America

Armando de Sanna, Rabobank International Managing Director, Mergers and
Acquisitions, +1-212-808-6819, armando.de.sanna@rabobank.com