by Hervé Lalau
The Thiénot group, which owns the Champagne brands Thiénot, Canard-Duchêne, Joseph Perrier, Marie Stuart and Malard, as well as three properties in Bordeaux, has acquired a majority shareholding in Modus Vin, the holding company for
CVBG Dourthe-Kressmann. The deal was conceived by Jean-Marie Chadronnier, the current director of CVBG, who was looking to raise capital for expansion.
Through Vignobles Dourthe, CVBG already manages several Bordeaux estates, ncluding Château Belgrave in the Haut-Médoc, Château La Garde in Pessac-Léognan and Château Pey La Tour in Bordeaux, and will now also take over the management of Thiénot's Bordeaux properties. With combined vineyard holdings of 725 hectares in Bordeaux, Champagne and the Languedoc, the new group will be looking to expand into other regions in France.
Jean-Marie Chadronnier has indicated that he will step down as chief executive officer. Patrick Jestin, currently the general manager for sales and marketing, is expected to be named as his successor. Chadronnier's son Mathieu remains general manager of the Grands Crus division.
CVBG had a turnover of €123m in 2006. The new CVBG-Thiénot group is expected to turn over €275m in 2007.
