FDBusiness.com

Refresco Group’s shareholders have approved the acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities. The transformational acquisition, which is at the heart of Refresco’s buy and build strategy, will create the world’s largest independent bottler with leadership positions across Europe and North America.

The resolution to approve the acquisition was adopted by 99.5% of the votes cast. The transaction is now expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to the satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Hans Roelofs, chief executive of Refresco, comments: “The bottling activities of Cott are a perfect strategic fit to our current activities. With this acquisition, we create a nationwide coverage in the US, the largest single soft drinks market globally, while adding significant capacity and extending our broad product portfolio in the UK. It is a unique, transformational transaction marking a step change in the industry. It reinforces our position as leading independent bottler for retailers and A-brands, creating a company with combined production volumes of approximately 12 billion liters across 59 production sites.”

He continues: “After our entry in North America with the acquisition of Whitlock Packaging only a year ago, I am very proud to be able to significantly enlarge our presence in this region and provide our customers access to an enhanced global network. The process is on track to close in the fourth quarter of this year, providing significant value creation opportunities for all of our stakeholders.”

Refresco currently has production operations in the Benelux, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and the US. In 2016, the company realized full year volumes and revenue of circa 6.5 billion litres and circa €2.1 billion, respectively. Refresco 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 and glass.