Gancia family sells wine business

The Gancia family, which controls the eponymous Italian winemaker, has reportedly sold the family business to Russian oligarch Roustam Tariko in a deal worth €150 million.

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, Tariko will take over the Piedmont-based company, whose portfolio of brands includes brachetto, chardonnay, prosecco and dry vermouth, by the end of the week.

Moscow-based business daily Vedomosti reported that the deal has already been signed, but said it is still unclear how many shares of the company Tariko has acquired.

Tariko already owns holding company Russian Standard, whose interests range from spirits to banking and insurance. He is the biggest shareholders of Polish vodka maker Cedc, which distributes Gancia’s products.

Gancia brothers Carlo and Francesco Gancia established Fratelli Gancia in 1850, becoming the first producer of sparkling wine in Italy. Today, fifth-generation Edoardo, Lamberto and Massimiliano Vallarino Gancia manage the family business.

In 2005, family member Alessandro Vallarino Gancia married Delphine Arnault, daughter of luxury group LVMH’s owner Bernard Arnault.