Febvre, one of the country's largest wine distributors, has sold its French subsidiary Paul Sapin to Les Grands Chais de France for an undisclosed sum, the company said on Wednesday.
Febvre acquired a 99.79 per cent stake in Paul Sapin in 1999. The Burgundy-based company bottles wines for export to more than 30 countries.
Les Grand Chais de France is the second largest producer and the biggest exporter of French wines around the world. The family-owned group was established in Petersbach, Alsace, in 1979.
Febvre said the sale of its shareholding in Paul Sapin would enable it to concentrate on its core activities in Ireland.
Febvre is one of the country's main wine importers with revenues of €48.9 million in 2014. The Sandyford-based importer was established in 1963 when Emile and Brenda Alken took over a small wine brokerage in Ireland from M. Louis Febvre, a Parisian who was retiring back to France.
The company supplies wines to hotels and restaurants, pubs and bistros, wine merchants, supermarkets, airlines and duty free.
The Isle of Man-based investment firm Padmore Limited became the majority shareholder in the group in 2014, in a move that led to the appointment of former C&C chief executive Jim Bradley as chief executive.
