Southport Lane has announced that it has formed Premium Beverage Group,
Inc. (Pink Sheets:PBEV), an alcoholic beverage sector rollup. Premium
Beverage’s first acquisitions are Lieb Cellars and Premium Wine Group,
two of Southport’s private equity fund portfolio companies.
Richard D. Bailey, CEO of Premium Beverage Group, stated, “We have seen
a great deal of opportunity in the small-and middle-market alcoholic
beverage sector and believe a consolidation strategy under a public
company umbrella makes a lot of sense.” Bailey is also a Managing
Director at Southport Lane Management LLC, the General Partner of
Southport Lane’s private equity fund, and has been serving as Chief
Executive Officer of Beverage Operations since May 2013. Lieb Cellars
produces and sells award winning estate grown wines wholesale and retail
from their 42 acre vineyard in Cutchogue, NY. They also lease an
additional 44 acres on Long Island’s North Fork. Their tasting rooms in
Mattituck and Cutchogue, NY are open to the public year round. A new
tasting room in East Hampton, NY is scheduled to open in early 2014.
Their website is www.liebcellars.com.
Premium Wine Group was founded in 2000 by Mark Lieb and award winning
winemaker Russell Hearn and is a contract winemaking facility designed
to provide wineries throughout Long Island an economical way to produce
wine without huge investment in equipment and facilities. Premium Wine
Group produces wines not only for its own Lieb Cellars’ wholesale and
mass market efforts, but also approximately 20 other wineries on the
North Fork of Long Island. Their website is www.premiumwinegroup.com.
The acquisition of Lieb Cellars and Premium Wine Group is expected to be
completed before the end of the current calendar year.
About Premium Beverage Group: Premium Beverage Group, Inc. is a
publicly traded company. Its securities are quoted on OTCMarkets.com
under the ticker symbol ‘PBEV.’ Its securities were formerly quoted
under the ticker symbol ‘SLND.’
About Southport Lane: Southport Lane is a New York based
financial services firm specializing in private equity, asset
management, and insurance services. Southport Lane was founded in 2010
and has over $5 billion in assets under management. Their website is www.southportlane.com.
Safe Harbor Language: FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Statements included in this press release that are not historical facts
are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “1995 Act”). Words such as
“believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “look forward,”
“opportunities,” “potential,” and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements. Premium Beverage Group, Inc. (the “Company”)
cautions readers that forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s
current expectations and assumptions that are subject to certain risks
and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Statements made
herein are made in reliance on the safe harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the 1995 Act. The Company assumes no obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any
other forward-looking statements otherwise made by the Company.
Copyright Business Wire 2013