Shinsegae Group Acquires Famous US Winery... "Differentiating Retail in Korea and the US"

Shinsegae Property Acquires Napa Valley Premium Winery 'Shafer Vineyards' Through US Subsidiary Starfield Property

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Shinsegae Group is acquiring a famous American winery to differentiate its business in Korea and the United States through wine.

Shinsegae Property announced on the 16th that it will acquire the premium California Napa Valley winery 'Shafer Vineyards' through its 100% American subsidiary Starfield Properties, Inc. The acquisition price totals 299.6 billion KRW, including 245 billion KRW for equity and 54.6 billion KRW for real estate.

Through this acquisition, Shinsegae Property plans to diversify its existing real estate portfolio, which mainly consists of domestic distribution and commercial facilities, into high-quality overseas assets in developed countries, thereby expanding its own business areas. At the group level, the plan is to strengthen retail business in Korea and the U.S. with differentiated products through additional wine production. Additional commercialization plans, such as establishing experiential facilities at the local winery, are also under consideration.

'Shafer Vineyards,' established in 1979, is a winery with high business value, owning a portfolio of five luxury wine products including Hillside Select, a top-tier wine representing Napa Valley. Shafer Vineyards holds approximately 1,983,000 square meters (about 600,000 pyeong) of vineyards located in the central area of Napa Valley, known as the best location with optimal temperature and soil conditions for producing premium wines.

Shinsegae Property stated, "Premium winery properties are highly scarce, and especially Napa Valley has shown an average annual real estate price increase of 9% from 2014 to 2020, so the value is expected to continue rising." Along with diversifying its business into high-quality overseas assets, Shinsegae Property is also expanding its expertise and business experience by recently promoting the establishment of SMPMC, a comprehensive asset management solutions corporation.