FDBusiness.com

Gruppo Campari has agreed to sell the Lemonsoda business to Danish beverage company Royal Unibrew for €80 million. The sold business includes the alcohol free fruit-flavoured carbonated variants Lemonsoda, Oransoda, Pelmosoda and Mojito Soda, grouped under the Freedea brand name, as well as the Crodo brands (with the exception of the brand Crodino). Besides the trademarks, the deal also includes the manufacturing and bottling facility, located in Crodo, Northern Italy, and the associated water springs as well as the inventories.

In the year ended 31 December 2016 the brands being sold achieved total net sales of €32.8 million and CAAP (Contribution after A&P), before allocated costs and depreciation, of €6.3 million. The total net sales relating to the brands sold represented approximately 2% of Gruppo Campari’s net sales in FY2016. Italy is the brands’ core market, accounting for 84.3% of the overall net sales in FY2016. The overall deal consideration corresponds to a multiple of approximately 13 times the CAAP (Contribution after A&P), before allocated costs and depreciation, relating to the brands sold.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

As part of the transaction and effective from closing, Gruppo Campari and Royal Unibrew will enter into a multi-year manufacturing agreement, under which Royal Unibrew will continue to manufacture certain Gruppo Campari’s owned products which are currently produced at the bottling facility located in Crodo.

This transaction fits Gruppo Campari’s efforts to streamline its brand portfolio and focus on its core spirits business. Since the beginning of 2017 Gruppo Campari has divested several non-strategic assets for a total value of approximately €310 million.

Royal Unibrew, a Danish limited liability company listed on the Nasdaq Nordic Stock Exchange, is a major beverage player within beer, soft drinks, waters, ciders, energy drinks and non-alcoholic malt drinks, holding leading positions primarily in Northern Europe, Italy and in the international malt beverage markets.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz (pictured above), chief executive of Gruppo Campari, comments: “The sale of the Lemonsoda and Crodo business marks a further key step in our strategy of streamlining our non-core activities. In particular, with this transaction we exit the soft drinks business, while retaining our core Crodino brand, to further focus on our key aperitif business in Italy. We are very pleased to sign this transaction with Royal Unibrew, a focused player and brand developer in the soft drinks and mineral water segments, and a perfect fit for the Lemonsoda business. Moreover, we are glad to transfer the Crodo facility to a group investing in the soft drinks segment with ambitious growth plans for the manufacturing site.”

Hans Savonije, chief executive of Royal Unibrew, says the acquisition cements the company’s commitment to the Italian market and expands its position.