Hawesko acquires majority in specialist for Spanish wines Wein & Vinos

Hamburg, 16 November 2011. The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) will acquire a 70 % shareholding in the Berlin-based wine trader Wein & Vinos effective 1 January 2012. Wein & Vinos is the leading multi-channel retailer for Spanish wines in Germany and achieved sales of € 17.0 million in the past fiscal year 2010. With its clear focus on Spanish wines the company has grown more than 50 % per year on average in the past three years; growth in the current fiscal year of 2011 should also be on this scale. Besides e-commerce as its main sales channel, Wein & Vinos also operates seven shops in Berlin and Munich.

The management board of Hawesko Holding AG, according to its preliminary calculations, expects Wein & Vinos to make a positive earnings contribution from 2012, the first year of consolidation in the Hawesko Group.

The purchase agreement provides for the two managing partners who founded the company to remain as minority shareholders in Wein & Vinos and to continue running it.

Joerg Horn and Wolf Wilder, managing shareholders of Wein & Vinos: 'We will continue to grow at a decent pace - mid double-digit percentages - in the opportune market of e-commerce wine.  In order to accomplish this, we want to concentrate our full energies on realising the ideas and plans we have already developed. We need a strong and experienced partner at our back. With Hawesko Holding AG we've found our ideal partner and the number one in the business as well!'

Alexander Margaritoff, Chief Executive of Hawesko Holding AG: 'Wein & Vinos combines its focus on a younger clientele with intelligent integration of the possibilities of the Internet, together with simple and lean processes. That's how the company grows profitably. It will be a gain for the Hawesko Group.'

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Further information as well as the online offer of Wein & Vinos in German can be found under http://www.vinos.de .

Herausgeber:
Hawesko Holding AG
20247 Hamburg

Investor Relations:                                                        
Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG                
Phone (+49 40) 30 39 21 00                                          
Fax   (+49 40) 30 39 21 05                                          
E-Mail: ir(at)hawesko-holding.com                             

Press/Media:
Vera Maria Bau, VMB Public Relations
Phone (+49 228) 4496 406
Fax   (+49 228) 4496 9406
E-Mail: vmb(at)veramariabau-pr.de