Sydney, June 25 - Troubled Australian winemaker Evans & Tate Ltd. said it had received a proposal from Ferngrove Vineyards Ltd. about merging the two companies, in a rival bid to an existing restructuring plan.
Under Ferngrove's proposal, Evans & Tate's major creditor Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. would take a stake in the merged entity by converting A$45 million ($38 million) of debt in exchange for the issue of new shares, and would exit the new group after a two-year period.
Evans & Tate said its board and advisers would meet to consider the offer from Ferngrove, and compare it with a proposal announced earlier this month to restructure the company from boutique finance firm Pendulum Capital.
Pendulum also owns the unlisted Fogarty Wines Group which has labels in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales state and Margaret River in Western Australia.
That deal involved a rights issue and placement of shares with ANZ, which would reduce Evans & Tate's debt to about A$55 million, from about A$100 million.
Evans & Tate said the ANZ would also have to consider the new proposal from Ferngrove.
The winemaker has been hit by an industry-wide downturn caused by a grape oversupply, which forced large write downs last year, and weak sales in Britain.