Lenny Recanati has bought the shares in Recanati Winery belonging to the Ben-Ari brothers, with whom he had a legal dispute lasting many years. Following his acquisition of the Ben-Ari brothers’ stake, Lenny Recanati now owns 83% of the winery, while Uri Shaked owns 17%. The company is now looking for a new director to replace Doron Rand, who resigned after two years in the job. Rand’s predecessor was Recanati Winery shareholder Shlomi Ben-Ari.
The disagreement started when the partners stopped injecting money into the winery, but refused to have their holdings diluted. The dispute then reached the courts.
Under a compromise settlement, the Ben-Ari brothers agreed that Lenny Recanati would buy all their shares, and they would resign their positions at the winery.
Despite the dispute, the winery continued operating and growing. Located in the Emek Hefer industrial zone, the Recanati Winery sold almost 500,000 bottles of wine in its third year of operation.
The brand has won a number of awards around the world since it was launched in 2001. Many different white and red wines are produced at the winery, and a quarter of its production is exported to the US, Europe, and Japan. In Israel, the wine is distributed selectively to prestigious and highly visible sales points in order to preserve its status as a boutique, not a popular, wine.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on September 22, 2005