Wolf Blass bidding war? TPG makes rival $3.1bn approach to Treasury Wine Estates

10-Aug-2014 - Last updated on 11-Aug-2014 at 14:03 GMT

Penfolds and Wolf Blass brand owner Treasury Wine Estates has received a second $3.1bn takeover approach from a global private equity firm reported to be TPG Capital Management.

TWE's board said in an Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) announcement this morning that it had received an "additional, non-binding and conditional proposal" from another global private equity investor that demanded anonymity.

The takeover proposal is framed on similar lines to that received by KKR and Rhone Capital seven days ago - with the same mooted price of AUD $5.20/share, which values TWE at AUD $3.38bn.

Today The Guardian cites an anonymous source identifying TPG (which previously invested in Treasury's Californian wine business Beringer) as the mystery suitor.

As with the approach from KKR and Rhone Capital, TWE's board said today it was in the shareholder interest to pursue discussions with the new investor with a view to the latter conducting non-exclusive due diligence.

Again, TWE's board will decide if any resulting offer delivers a "value proposition that is superior to the expected benefits from management's renewed strategic plans".

Click here to read about these plans in more detail; we explored them in the wake of KKR/Rhone Capital approach last Monday.