Mondavi Winery Sells 2.5 Million Shares in IPO

Robert Mondavi Corp., one of the nation’s best-known winemakers, sold 2.5 million shares Thursday in an initial public offering.

Mondavi has offered 3.7 million shares priced at $13.50 a share, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Hambrecht & Quist said. The stock closed at $13.125 in over-the-counter trading.

Mondavi becomes the country’s third winery to offer stock to the public.

Of the 3.7 million shares offered, 2.7 million were being sold by the company and 1 million by existing shareholders. Mondavi said it will use the proceeds from the stock sale to pay off some of its $65 million in bank debt, fund expansion and add to working capital.

The offering will help Mondavi finance the replanting of vineyards devastated by phylloxera, an insect that attacks grapevines.

Mondavi is a leading producer of premium wines under the Robert Mondavi, Vichon, Byron and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi labels. In partnership with owners of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Mondavi also produces and sells Opus One, a super-premium Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine.

The nation’s two other publicly traded wine companies are Chalone Wine Group, based in San Francisco, and Canandaigua Wine Co. of New York.