GE Capital Provides $300M to Accolade

GE Capital International, the global alternative finance provider dedicated to the mid-market, announces it has provided a US$300m cross-border financing facility to Accolade Wines, the largest wine company by volume of wine sold in Australia and the UK.

Accolade Wines initially secured a US$220m financing facility from GE Capital International in 2011. This latest finance solution provides upsized global facilities to Accolade Wines, as the company recapitalises its balance sheet to fund the continued global growth of the business.

Over the last 12 months, GE Capital International has funded more than US$800m in cross-border deals and introduced a Global Financial Solutions (GFS) team dedicated to providing a one-stop shop for cross-border financing solutions.

One of these deals was a US$250m pan-European and North American ABL financing solution to global rigid and flexible packaging firm, Coveris (formerly Exopack) in November. This reflects the increasing numbers of corporate companies who recognize the advantage of having a single, global financing partner. A strong pipeline is in place for 2014 and beyond as appetite for this form of financing continues to grow.

Richard Laxer, President and CEO, GE Capital International, said: “Many of our customers’ businesses cover multiple geographies. Our global footprint and experience in cross-border transactions position us to provide global financing solutions that fit our customer needs. We were able to support Accolade Wines and CHAMP Private Equity, Accolade’s majority owner with a financing facility to help them fund the continued global growth of
their business.”

John Ratcliffe, CEO, Accolade Wines, said: “We have been partnering with GE for some time. GE’s global platform is important to the implementation of our strategy of being a full-service New World wine proposition globally across the three core price segments of value, mid-market and premium. We operate globally and working with GE allows us to do this seamlessly across multiple geographies.”