Carlsberg is set to trim its soft drinks presence, agreeing the sale of the Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos unit, better known as Britvic Brazil, for EUR80m (US$89.1m).
The business, which Carlsberg inherited through last year’s acquisition of Britvic, will transfer to its new owner, domestic conglomerate Grupo José Augusto Vieira (Grupo JAV), before the end of next month. Once completed, the transaction will see the likes of the Maguary concentrate & juice brand join category rival Maratá Sucos do Nordeste on Grupo JAV’s books.
“I’m pleased that we have found a good partner for Britvic Brazil,” said Carlsberg’s executive VP for Central & Eastern Europe and India, Nikos Kalaitzidakis. “I want to thank everyone who has contributed to building this business and achieving its success over the years. We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a successful transition and a strong future for the business under its new ownership.”
Grupo JAV shareholder Frank Vieira added: “This acquisition is an important milestone for Grupo JAV and reflects our long-term confidence in the Brazilian market.
“Britvic Brazil brings a strong brand portfolio, a nationwide footprint and an experienced team, and we are excited to support its continued growth.”
Britvic debuted in Brazil 11 years ago when it spent GBP120.8m (then-US$188.4m) on Maguary owner Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos. In 2017, the UK-headquartered soft drinks group added to its footprint with the GBP54.5m (then-US$67.2m) acquisition of Bela Ischia.
Carlsberg’s takeover of Britvic – and with it the latter’s UK bottling licence for PepsiCo’s drinks brands in the country – has been followed by a number of transactions strengthening its already-existent arrangement with the soft drinks giant. July’s addition of the Azerbaijan market to the bottling tie-up was boosted further last month with Armenia and Georgia bringing the arrangement up to 17 markets, none of which are in South America.
