French spirits group Pernod Ricard - which owns Irish Distillers - said today it is "continuously exploring options" for its business portfolio.
This comes after an Australian media report that it had mandated two banks to conduct a strategic review of its Australia and New Zealand wine business.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Pernod Ricard has mandated long-time advisers Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan with the review, which could lead to a sale process as early as next month.
The company's Australian portfolio includes the Jacob's Creek brand, along with St Hugo and George Wyndham. It also owns Brancott Estate and Stoneleigh in New Zealand, the paper said.
"Pernod Ricard regularly assesses and evaluates its strategic opportunities and is continuously exploring options, including divestments or the streamlining of some or part of individual business units," it said.
"This is a usual process in line with management’s mission of delivering value to shareholders, employees, clients and stakeholders. Pernod Ricard nonetheless highlights that, at this stage, no decision has been made regarding any particular action," it added.
