Lassonde becomes shareholder of Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits

Rougemont, Que. – Lassonde Industries announced that it has acquired 19.9 per cent of the common shares in Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc., a national wine and alcoholic beverage production, marketing and distribution company based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

This transaction allows Lassonde and its subsidiary Arista Wines to expand their activities in the marketing of alcoholic beverages outside of Quebec. This transaction also includes a commercial brokerage agreement in which Lassonde will exclusively represent Diamond Estates’ products with certain retailers, particularly in the grocery and convenience store network.

“Through its subsidiary Arista Wines, Lassonde will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of Diamond Estates in the Canadian wine-growing sector, while the Lassonde teams will support the representation of Diamond Estates’ products in grocery and convenience stores across Canada. This is a win-win agreement for both companies,” said Jean Gattuso, president and chief operating officer of Lassonde in a press release.

Lassonde and Diamond Estates have also entered into an investor rights agreement, providing Lassonde with the right to nominate two of the seven directors on the board of directors, which will soon be reconstituted, as well as certain rights involving anti-dilution, registration and governance.

Diamond Estates is a producer of wines and a sales agent for over 120 beverage alcohol brands across Canada. The company operates three wineries, two in Ontario and one in British Columbia, that produce predominantly VQA wines (certified wines) such as 20 Bees, EastDell, Lakeview Cellars, Fresh and Backyard Vineyards. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Trajectory Beverage Partners. These brands include Josh wines from California, Fat Bastard and Andre Lurton wines from France, Kaiken wines from Argentina, Anciano wines from Spain, Blue Nun wines from Germany, Francois Lurton wines from France and Argentina, Waterloo Brewing and Amsterdam Brewery, both from Canada, Landshark Lager from the United States, Marston’s beers from England, Social Lite vodka sodas from Canada, Malfy Gin from Italy, Edinburgh Gin from Scotland, Ian MacLeod and Glengoyne scotches from Scotland, Barcelo Rum from the Dominican Republic and Tequila Rose Liqueur from McCormick Distilling in the United States.