$10m takeover of Lark whisky

ASX- L I S TED Aust r a l i a n Whisky Holdings has increased its grip on the Tasmanian whisky industry with a $10 million takeover of the Lark Distillery.

The company, which has the ASX code AWY, has revealed it received acceptances for 99.96 per cent of Lark shares after its takeover offer.

“AWY has been informed that the one shareholder who has not accepted the offer wishes to retain a shareholding in Lark,” company secretary Gary Stewart said.

Australian Whisky Holdings (AWH) owns the Nant Distillery and 12 per cent of the Redlands Estate distillery at New Norfolk. It says it wants to maintain Tasmania’s leadership in the Australian craft whisky industry in Australia.

It will hold a general meeting of shareholders on June 28 in Sydney to approve the takeover. The offer provided Lark shareholders with a cash payment of $400 a share or 12,500 shares in AWH worth .032 cents a share.

Lark has been a private company since inception in 1992 with 30 shareholders owning 51,606 shares. AWH had 48.12 per cent at the start of the takeover.

The meeting will consider the issue of up to 334 million shares to Lark shareholders or the issue of shares at three cents a share to raise up to $10.7 million.

Company secretary Gary Stewart said AWH proposed to accelerate growth in the craft whisky industry ahead of competitors and take a leadership position in the industry.

He said the company did not intend to consolidate distilleries because “it believes each distillery and distiller is unique in its production method”.

Lark Distillery had net assets of $8.3 million at June 30.