The Australian wines and spirits group, Lion Nathan, has counted itself out of making a bid for the troubled Australian wine company, Southcorp.
Lion’s chief executive, Gordon Cairns, said that while the company was interested in making further wine acquisitions, Southcorp did not fit the model that it was looking for.
Last week, Southcorp, saw its shares plummet after it warned that it would record a net loss for 2002/2003 and would not be paying a final dividend.
The company’s CEO, John Ballard, said it was predicting a full-year pre-tax loss of A$12.8m (US$8.3m). It was the latest in a series of announcements which have plunged an erstwhile star of the Australian wine industry, which owns brands such as Penfolds, Lindemans, Rosemount and Wynns, into deep trouble.
