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<\/p>\nThe French insurance group MACSF, which specializes in healthcare professionals, bought Ch\u00e2teau Lascombes for 200 million euros. <\/p>\n
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The sale price of the 117-hectare Margaux Second Grand Cru, which since 2001 has belonged to the American investment group Colony Capital, includes the chateau buildings, all land and equipment and around \u20ac50,000 in shares.<\/p>\n
The deal closed over the weekend, ending months of speculation and a final bidding round where four potential buyers went head-to-head. The current team of winegrowers and winegrowers led by Dominique Befve will remain in place.<\/p>\n
MACSF carried out a careful study of the viability of the purchase and the future potential of the estate, with the help of various advisers: the specialists in merger-acquisition Wine Bankers, the Bordeaux consultants Sogevignes, the Bordeaux section of Ernst & Young as well as the law firm Fidal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat convinced Colony Capital in part was the financial solidity of MACSF and the prospect of a transaction carried out without resorting to additional financing,\u201d explained Jean-Luc Coup\u00e9 of Wine Bankers to Decanter.com.<\/p>\n
The amount of the transaction corresponds to only 1 % of MACSF's assets, and the company has an annual turnover of 2.12 billion euros. This may be the first estate purchased by the company but it is fully aware of the implications and the potential of Ch\u00e2teau Lascombes to become, with time and work, what is called a "super Second". .<\/p>\n
Marcel Kahn, Managing Director of MACSF, said: \u201cWe greatly respect all the work and investment that Lascombes has benefited from and which has allowed it to regain the rank of Second Grand Cru. Colony Capital is estimated to have invested around 35 million euros in Ch\u00e2teau Lascombes, following its purchase for 50 million euros.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are an entirely French company and we are happy to have invested in a piece of French heritage. For us, this is a long-term investment; we want to ensure continuity and future growth. \u00bb<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e2teau Lascombes is the highest-producing Margaux appellation estate, with more than 500,000 bottles a year, of which 40 %s are sold in the United States, 30 %s in Asia and 30 %s in Europe.<\/p>\n
The price of the 2010 vintage of Ch\u00e2teau Lascombes, announced at the beginning of June, amounts to \u20ac72 per bottle (trade price), an increase of 20 % compared to 2009.<\/p>\n
Steven Spurrier of Decanter gave the 2010 vintage four stars (17.5\/20). He praised its \u201cvery well-extracted ripe fruit, which speaks to its maturity and structure and hints at the development over time of subtle tannins. \u00bb<\/p>\n