Vintage Wine Estates Inc has said that it will merge with a blank-check firm to go public in a deal that values the California-based winemaker at approximately $690 million including debt.
Prior to the deal with Bespoke Capital Acquisition Corp, investment firm Waswatch Global Investors bought a stake in the company worth $28 million, Vintage Wine Estates said in a statement.
Vintage Wine has 12 winery estates in Napa, Sonoma and the central coast of California. It was founded by Pat Roney, who is also the chief executive officer of the company.
The winemaker's brands, which include Purple Cowboy and Laetitia, sell for anywhere from $10 to $150.
The wine-making business in California has suffered a setback as the COVID-19 pandemic has crushed tourism. Winemakers such as Vintage Wine Estates have sought to cushion the impact through measures such as virtual tastings.
Blank-check firms are special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that use proceeds from their initial public offering (IPO) to buy a private firm. The private firm is then taken public. SPACs emerged as a popular alternative to traditional IPOs in 2020, and the trend has shown no sign of slowing down so far in 2021.
Listing On Nasdaq
Bespoke Capital Acquisition said that it is in the process of listing on Nasdaq.
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