Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates is opening its books to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts after the private equity giant hiked its takeover offer to $3.15bn (€2.35bn), raising the prospect of a bidding war for the world’s second biggest winemaker.

THE market for wine is like a pyramid: tiny quantities of rare and expensive stuff on top; rather a lot of widely available inexpensive wines in the middle, and cheapies competing on price at the bottom.

Brewing giant Foster’s today said that higher annual profits from sales of beer overseas had been eroded by a sharp drop in US wine trade.

International drinks group Foster’s reaped more from the sale of wine than it did from beer during its last financial year, figures show today.