Built through a pandemic, merged five years later
A wine importer started at the worst possible moment for hospitality, built one venue at a time, and merged into a global group five years on.
“We started with a dream and some potential! Our partners at Halkin Ventures allowed us to achieve them”
Where they were
Two founders. One knew the wine world inside out, one knew the numbers, and between them, as one of them puts it, exactly one complete founder. The plan was to bring exceptional Italian producers to Australia's best dining rooms and tell their stories properly. Then COVID closed the venues.
What the work was
Halkin Ventures worked on the strategy first, getting the business to a point where a global group would want it. Then the diligence. Producer agreements, distribution terms, the entity structure and the numbers, assembled so an acquirer's questions could be answered as they arrived rather than chased. A cross-border buyer asks more of that than a domestic one.
What happened
Five years after launching into a hospitality industry that was shutting down, the founders had built a business ready to become part of a global group. The merger with Dispensing Solutions completed on 27 February 2026, taking The Standard Wine Co into Ethica Wines North America and Asia Pacific.
Kat Levy
Global CEO. Strategy and M&A.
Adiel Jacobs
Structuring and deals.
Jarrod Basger
Growth and transactions.
Sold without taking the founders off the business
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