KKR Firesale Bid for Penfolds Has Room for Bump: Real M&A

KKR & Co.’s offer to buy Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. for less than the maker of Penfolds shiraz could fetch in a firesale leaves the door open for a higher bid.

After rejecting the buyout firm’s A$3.05 billion ($2.8 billion) proposal as too low, Treasury Chief Executive Officer Mike Clarke this week said any suitor is free to approach the Melbourne-based company, whose labels also include Stags’ Leap, Wolf Blass and Beringer. Treasury shares have since surged past the spurned A$4.70-a share bid, and traders are betting that the winemaker is more likely to win a higher offer than any other large target of a deal announced in Asia this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.