TSG LLC, a Ladue-based investment firm led by Steve Schepman, has acquired the Winetasting Network, a Napa Valley-based online wine business, from 1-800-Flowers.com.
The acquisition includes the website Winetasting.com, 140 domain names and an inventory of 256,000 bottles of wine, said Schepman, who became president of the business on Jan. 1. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Winetasting.com was founded in 1991.
Schepman, who is a majority shareholder in TSG, said he plans to invest in technology enhancements for Winetasting.com and other websites to better reach customers.
Direct-to-consumer wine sales grew 10 percent last year, Schepman said.
Winetasting Network’s growth plans will be “both through acquisitions and organically,” he said.
The Winetasting Network is licensed to sell wine in 42 states and has more than 200,000 customer accounts in the United States.
Schepman is a former executive and board member at Clayton-based First Banks Inc., the parent company of First Bank. His partners in TSG are Ron King, a professor at Washington University’s Olin Business School; Dr. Rob Poirier, an emergency room physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and assistant professor at the Washington University School of Medicine; and Bill Pruellage, co-president of investment firm Castle Harlan in New York.
Clayton-based investment banking firm R.L. Hulett & Co. acted as the buyer’s financial adviser in negotiating the deal.
source : http://www.stltoday.com
