Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/369547
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m S e p t - O c t 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 7 1 Local Bank. Local Lenders. www.exchangebank.com 707.524.3000 Large or Small...to us you are just right! We have a wide variety of loan products available for a business your size adequate to support in the recent past. Moreover, they are doing so at near all-time low rates, in the 3-5% range, for short-term float- ing deals and, yes, even long-term fixed deals. MORE MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Mergers and acquisitions, too, are returning to healthy levels. A recent Silicon Valley Bank survey found that more than 500 West Coast wineries – fully 10% – are likely to change ownership in the next five years. Nearly a third indi- cated they would sell if the price was right. Many winery ownership transition plans were put on hold during the economic downturn, and now those plans are being dusted off, accounting for a burst in transactions. While there may be a slight slowdown in deals in the near future, the next five years overall will be ripe for transactions for labels and productive capacity – and not just in California. Many of the major industry players have already moved to take advantage of this environ- ment, inside and outside Califor- nia. In 2013, Jackson Family Wines became Oregon's largest vineyard owner with the purchase of more than 1,300 acres in Willamette changing hands, too. Among the biggest, Pernod Ricard USA, a subsidiary of the French purveyor of wine and spirits and owner of Mumm Napa, in April announced it is buying Kenwood Vineyards in Sonoma Valley, its first still winery in California. Wineries of all sizes are snap- Valley, following on E. & J. Gallo's move into Washington state a year earlier. Given the bountiful availabil- ity of credit, as more vineyard prop- erties become available, deal flow is expected to continue. Washing- ton, in particular, will see a lot of new activity. Labels big and small have been 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Sale of Winery in 5 years No Way Source: Silicon Valley Bank Very Unlikely Possible Strongly Considering Hopefully Yes A SVB survey found that 10% of West Coast wineries are likely to change owners in the next five years.