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The Mark Anthony Group of Companies today announced an agreement to purchase The Bacchus Group, a fine wine and spirits import and distribution company operating in Western Canada with a history of building premium brands such as Château de la Gardine, Frescobaldi, Grand Marnier, Heineken, Pol Roger Champagne, Symington, and Zuccardi, among others.
The transaction is expected to close on June 12th, 2017.
Once complete, The Bacchus Group will continue to operate as a separate company from Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits under separate leadership. The Bacchus Group will provide an independent route to market for the fine wine and spirits suppliers they represent from around the world. They will retain the name “The Bacchus Group” and their employees will operate independently from Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits – for both companies it will continue to be “business as usual.”
Commenting on the transaction Mark Anthony Chairman & CEO Anthony von Mandl said, “As Canada’s major fine wine importer and distributor we recognize that certain international wine and spirits brands will benefit from the scale of the national distribution focus of Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits, while others require a more niche regional focus provided by The Bacchus Group. Our goal is to provide viable alternatives for exceptional wine and spirits suppliers around the world that are committed to building their business in the Canadian market.”
Mark Anthony will support The Bacchus Group with industry leading infrastructure, including Distribution & Logistics, Finance, IT Systems, Human Resources, and Government Relations. These back-end systems will further enable Bacchus to continue to grow and expand for years to come.
"The business environment in the Canadian beverage alcohol market is becoming ever more complex with a new era of increased competition and consolidation. In this environment, the best route forward for The Bacchus Group is to align ourselves with a Canadian-owned company that is best positioned to lead this industry into the future. This was the primary factor in my decision to enter into an agreement with Mark Anthony to ensure that we are best positioned to thrive for years to come. Our supplier community has been overwhelmingly positive of the news and they clearly see the benefits of this new structure with Mark Anthony,” said Jim Marion, President, The Bacchus Group.
