FDBusiness.com

The merger between Refresco and Gerber Emig to create a leading pan-European bottler of soft drink and fruit juices has been completed. This follows approval by the European Competition Commission on October 4, 2013. The European Competition Commission’s green light to merge is conditional upon divestment of the production and bottling plant in Waibstadt in Germany.

With revenues of Eur2.3 billion and volume sales of about 6.5 billion litres, Refresco Gerber is a leading bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and branded players with production in the Benelux, France, Germany, Iberia, Italy, the UK, Poland and Finland. The combined group is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and employs about 4,700 staff.

Refresco Gerber offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations from 100% fruit juices to carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters in carton, PET, Aseptic PET, cans, pouches and glass. In addition to the efficiency of its bottling processes, the company also provides customers with total supply chain solutions – from planning and sourcing of raw materials and packaging through to warehousing and transportation.

Gerber Emig shareholders own 27.5% of the shares in the new group and Refresco shareholders own 72.5%. The composition of the supervisory board reflects the combined shareholder base.

Hans Roelofs, chief executive of Refresco Gerber, says: “I am proud to lead forward this strong and focused organisation. And I am excited about building on our combined capabilities to create a broader business, which promises many opportunities for our customers and employees alike. We will focus on value creation for all our stakeholders and are willing to invest in the future of the total industry.”