Investors eager to dump Wine.com, sources say

(VentureBeat) - The New York-based private equity firm Baker Capital is selling off online wine retailer Wine.com, say several sources familiar with the matter.

According to its website, Wine.com is majority owned by Baker Capital, a firm that claims to have $1.5 billion under management.

Wine.com soaked up close to $75 million in venture funding in a decade, but it has struggled to make money over the years, given the high marketing and shipping costs of selling wine online.

The news was first reported Monday by Growth Capitalist reporter Teri Buhl. Unnamed sources told Buhl that the company has failed to receive any offers and that Credit Suisse would handle the sale. Buhl also reported that bankers have little more to sell than a domain name.

That Wine.com could be acquired for peanuts is plausible; a source told me that the company’s most reliable revenue model involved selling gift baskets. However, with rumors circulating that Wine.com is looking for a buyer, it’s also possible that interested parties are intentionally looking to drive down the price. In addition, the company announced it was on steadier footing in 2009.