Woolworths Exits Endeavour Group Stake

By Sherin Sunny and Rishav Chatterjee
(Reuters) – Australian retailer Woolworths has decided to exit its stake in Endeavour Group, the owner of liquor chains Dan Murphy’s and BWS. This decision marks the end of a long-standing relationship, nearly three years after it spun off Endeavour.

The largest supermarket chain in Australia announced on Monday it will sell its remaining 4.1% stake in Endeavour through a block trade at A$5.23 per share, raising A$383 million (approximately $258.75 million).

Woolworths, or Woolies, merged its hospitality and liquor operations in 2019, naming the new entity Endeavour Drinks, and initially retained an 85% stake. Over the past five years, Woolworths has gradually reduced its stake, previously selling shares worth A$636 million in 2022 as part of its strategy to shift from ownership to partnership.

Most recently, in May, it sold another 5% stake valued at A$468 million. The exit comes amid a challenging trading environment for Woolworths’ liquor business at the onset of the new financial year.

Woolworths plans to use the proceeds from this sale to fund its acquisition of the remaining 35% stake in PFD Food Services. Following this announcement, Ben Williamson, co-founder and co-CEO of InvestorHub, emphasized the need for Woolworths to provide clearer explanations and allow shareholder inquiries regarding this decision.

Shares of Endeavour fell by as much as 2.4% to A$5.21, while Woolworths shares traded 0.5% higher.

($1 = 1.4782 Australian dollars)