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Japanese drinks giant acquires Lucozade and Ribena brands from GSK Nigeria

05 Jul 2016, 12:06 pm
Financial Nigeria
Japanese drinks giant acquires Lucozade and Ribena brands from GSK Nigeria

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The deal is worth about 7 billion yen or N19.4 billion.


Suntory Beverage and Foods, a Japanese soft drinks giant, said on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire two beverage brands – Lucozade and Ribena – from Glaxosmithkline Nigeria.

According to a statement released on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Suntory said the deal includes the soft drink operations and route to market capabilities of the two brands in Nigeria. The deal is worth about 7 billion yen or N19.4 billion.

“Operations and route to market capabilities sold by GSK Nigeria are buildings, manufacturing facilities and route to market for sales and marketing of the two brands Lucozade and Ribena in Nigeria,” Suntory said in a statement.

In December 2013, Suntory had acquired the Lucozade and Ribena brands as well as their business foundations from Glaxosmithkline (UK) Limited for $2.1 billion. However, GSK Nigeria continued to manufacture and market the two beverage brands in Nigeria under a licensing agreement.

With the acquisition, Suntory said it plans to reinforce its business in Nigeria and Africa. The deal is subject to the approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and is expected to be completed at the end of August this year.

Based in Tokyo, Suntory is the second largest soft drinks maker in Japan after the local subsidiary of Coca-Cola. With operations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, the company’s total sales reached $13.6 billion in 2015.


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