Lucozade and Ribena sold for £1.35bn
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline sells British soft drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena to Orangina and Schweppes owner Suntory Beverage & Food for £1.35bn.
Glaxo is selling the historic brands to Japanese drinks group Suntory after putting them up for sale in April.
Lucozade and Ribena, which date back to 1927 and the 1930s respectively, are made in the UK at a factory in Coleford, Gloucestershire, which employs around 500 staff.
Glaxo plans to focus on its consumer healthcare business, which includes brands such as Sensodyne, Panadol, Aquafresh and Niquitin.
Lucozade is the UK’s top-selling energy and sports drink, while blackcurrant drink Ribena is the fourth-best selling fruit juice and concentrate.
The two drinks brands achieved combined sales of £600m last year but three quarters of sales were in the UK, while they have virtually no presence in emerging markets where Glaxo sees its future growth potential.
A 1985 Lucozade TV advert featuring athlete Daley Thompson (video courtesy of YouTube)
Future ‘in good hands’
Glaxo chief strategy officer David Redfern said Lucozade and Ribena have made a huge contribution over the years, and their future is in “good hands”.
He said: “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.”
Glaxo said the “vast majority”of staff at Coleford and working in commercial, research and development will transfer to Suntory.
Suntory, which bought Orangina in 2009, said the brands will help it grow faster in the UK and expand to become the leading global soft drink company by 2020.
The cash deal is expected to complete by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
Suntory Beverage & Food, which is part of the £12bn turnover Suntory Group, said the drinks’ sales networks will help it grow its other brands in countries such as Nigerian and Malaysia.
The brands are said to have attracted considerable interest from private equity groups including CVC Capital Partners and KKR, and were also reportedly in the sights of Irn-Bru owner AG Barr.
In the three months to the end of June, Lucozade sales grew 4 per cent but Ribena was down 2 per cent.
