SEATTLE -- Southern Wine & Spirits of the Pacific Northwest--a multi-state division of Southern Wine & Spirits of America Inc., the country’s leading wine and spirits distributor—has purchased Phoenix Wine & Spirits of Salt Lake City, merging it with its Southern Wine & Spirits of Utah (SWS-Utah) arm. The combined entity--operating under the SWS-Utah name--will be the largest wine broker in the state.
“Phoenix is the oldest and largest wine brokerage company in Utah,” said John Klein, executive vice president, general manager of SWS, “and we are proud to merge their capabilities with ours as we capitalize on Phoenix’s unparalleled institutional knowledge of the Utah wine business.”
Phoenix CEO & president Patrick Delaney added, “I am proud that the Phoenix name will continue to remain in place as a key selling division under the Southern Wine & Spirits of Utah umbrella. … I look forward to leading the Phoenix Sales Division and partnering closely with Jeff Carter, who oversees wine sales for Wyoming and Utah for Southern.”
Southern senior vice president and president, Wine Division Mel Dick concluded, “There is no doubt that a good share of Southern’s ongoing success has been built on combining with other leading wholesalers and brokerages across this great nation of ours. We are excited to join our capabilities … leveraging the synergies between our two businesses as we take the enhanced SWS-UT wine business to the next level.”
The deal will close by the end of August, pending customary legal and regulatory review, with joint operations targeted for September 2013.
Southern Wine & Spirits of America Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets.
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