The Russian winemaker Inter-regional Winemaking (MVZ) has acquired a controlling stake in the Moldovan winemaker Calaras Divin (Calarasi) the Moldovan privatization department has said.


MVZ has acquired for 80% of the company’s stock for a total of US$3.7m.


Russian news sources said that a US$5m investment would be made in Calaras Divin to plant 600 hectares of new vines and clear US$2.5m of its debts.


Calaras Divin was put up for auction last August and MVZ was the only bidder. Originally it had offered US$3m for the stock and pledged to invest US$5m. However, this was rejected by Moldova, which wanted US$6m for the stock.