Cantina Valpantena yes to the merger with Cantina di Custoza

The shareholders ' meeting of Cantina Valpantena votes with a large majority in favor of the merger project by incorporation with Cantina di Custoza . The plan , already approved by the boards of directors of the two wineries, was ratified on Friday 18 December in the extraordinary assembly of the Quinto di Valpentena (VR) cooperative with 97% of votes in favor of those admitted to vote (196 yes out of 202 voters). The Custoza assembly had voted in favor on Saturday 12 December with 89 yeses out of 157 voters, but had not reached the quorum of two thirds necessary for approval. "The members of Cantina Valpantena - affirms the president Luigi Turco - have appreciated and approved the merger proposal and the industrial plan, considering it a concrete growth project for both wineries. Custoza for its part, even if it did not reach the quorum necessary for the 'approval, voted in favor of the merger ". By virtue of the strong mandate received, Cantina Valpantena therefore leaves the door open to the merger project between the two agricultural cooperatives which, if successful, would give life to a new company with around 30 million assets , a provision of 300 thousand quintals of grapes, a turnover of 65 million and a hundred employees. In support of the merger, the possibility, reaffirmed by Cantina Valpantena, to present itself on the market with a more dimensioned and competitive reality, capable of supporting the commercial investments necessary to attack the markets once the pandemic has emerged. At the center of the ordinary work of the Assembly on Saturday 19 social cooperative of the Fifth instead 'the income approval 2019/20, which recorded a turnover of 46.494 million euro, slightly down on the previous year, and assets net of € 22,700,000 , up. "We close a balance sheet in times of crisis - comments Luigi Turco - in a year that suffers a market in distress due to the overproduction of wine, which has led all consortia to reduce the yields of the denominations, and the repercussions due to the pandemic of Covid-19. Despite this we are satisfied as the turnover has held up, even if sacrificing the margins on the sale of products, and the assets have increased thanks to the merger made in 2019 with Cantina Colli Morenici ". Cantina Valpantena has also carried out the plan to strengthen the network of points of sale in the area, opening in July the store in Cassano Magnago, in the province of Varese, and ensuring the full operation of that of Cantina Colli Morenici in Ponti sul Mincio (Mantua). . The fees reached by the network of points of sale in 2019/20 amounted to € 4,626,000 , an increase compared to the previous year despite the closures suffered by the merchants on the occasion of the lockdown and the limitations due to the containment measures of Covid-19.