The long road of Enrico Serafino Piedmont wines comes to a halt in the US state of Iowa. The seller is Campari that has sold the winery to Krause holdings at 6.1 million euro once the company has been cleared of all debts and equity. With this operation, the beverage company, which has long wanted to part from its still wines division, is a small step forward in redefining its future portfolio, primarily focused on spirits.
The buyer, which will take hold of the brands, vineyards, wine cellar and various assets, is not a star in the sector. Quite the contrary: from its headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa, it operates a wide network of service stations with attached convenience stores (430 stores) under the brand Kum & Go covering 11 states of the mid western area, covering the States from North Dakota to Arkansas, traditionally the United States’ cereal growing land. Among the activities of the American company, the distribution of petroleum products prevails, which confirms the vocation of the group.
The acquisition of Enrico Serafino seems to be driven more by self-interest of the owner Kyle J. Krause than that of a non-core business opportunity: “I’m very passionate about Italian wines, especially those made in Piedmont” he stated. “This acquisition provides a base on which to invest. My intention is to continue to expand the cultivation of vineyards in this region and we intend to leverage on the brand heritage and to focus on the production of first class wines.”
Campari will continue to distribute the wines it has just sold, in all markets. It is recalled that this is the third sale of 2015. Before the Piedmont winery, Limoncetta Sorrento sold to Amaro Lucano for seven million euro and the Federated Pharmaceutical division in Jamaica was sold for €13 million.
In the Italian still wine division Sella & Mosca and Teruzzi & Puthod remain.