Japanese drinks giant Suntory has agreed a £1.35 billion deal with GlaxoSmithKline to acquire its popular soft drinks brands Ribena and Lucozade.
Suntory Beverage & Food (SBF), which also owns drinks brands Orangina and Schweppes, is expected to complete the transaction by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
David Redfern, chief strategy officer, GSK, said, “Lucozade and Ribena are iconic brands that have made a huge contribution to GSK over the years, but now is the right time to sell them as we increase the focus of our Consumer Healthcare business and execute the delivery of our late stage pipeline of pharmaceuticals and vaccines."
"We believe the future of Lucozade and Ribena is in good hands given SBF’s established beverages business, ambitious growth plans and also their recognition of the strong performance and capability of the GSK employees working on these products.”
The sale has been agreed as GSK's consumer healthcare business looks to refocus its efforts around its core portfolio of healthcare brands, particularly in emerging markets such as China. As part of this, the company initiated a strategic review of Lucozade and Ribena in February 2013 and subsequently announced its decision to divest the brands, subject to the realisation of appropriate shareholder value. Annual sales of the two brands were approximately £0.5 billion in 2012.
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Ellen Lunney
