Press release
Refresco Holding B.V. acquires Nuits Saint-Georges Production
4 May 2007.
Refresco Holding B.V., a major European manufacturer of fruit and soft drinks, today announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Nuits Saint-Georges Production SAS, a French fruit drinks company based near Dijon, France.
This is the second acquisition by Refresco Holding B.V. in France and allows the Refresco Group to continue to grow strongly in this market.
The Refresco Group is majority owned by a consortium of investors led by FL Group, a leading Icelandic investment company.
Commenting on the acquisition Mr. Hans Roelofs, CEO of the Refresco Group said: “As part of Refresco Group’s overall buy and build growth strategy, this deal represents another significant step forward for the company. It provides the group with a second plant in France in a market segment that continues to have strong growth prospects.”Notes to Editors:
1. Nuits Saint-Georges Production Nuits Saint-Georges Production SAS, a French company was previously owned by Orangina Schweppes and was used exclusively for the production of the Pampryl brand. Annual turnover of the company is approximately € 30 million. It has a production facility specialised in cold aseptic filling of juices and juice drinks in PET. Orangina Schweppes and the Refresco
Group have also reached an agreement to continue the production of the Pampryl brand in this facility. This is in line with the strategy of the Refresco Group to focus on the co-packing of A-brands and the production of private labels. Nuits Saint-Georges Production will be part of the new entity “Refresco France”.
2. Refresco Holding B.V.: The Refresco Group is a major European manufacturer of fruit and soft drinks. Formed in 1999 from the split off of Menken Drinks B.V. and Refresco de Sur Europa S.A. from the Dutch dairy group Campina, the Group now has a total of 15 production sites across Europe.
The Refresco Group had a total of 1250 employees and realised a turnover of € 660 million in 2006. The focus of the group is on the fruit and soft drinks market, mainly for the production of private labels for its retail clients as well as production under fancy labels and co-packing for A-brand partners.
The Group is owned by a consortium of Icelandic investors of which FL Group is the lead investor. The management of the Refresco Group holds a significant minority interest.
3. The investment consortium: In May 2006 an FL Group-led investment consortium, comprising Kaupthing Bank and VÄ·filfell, acquired a majority stake in Refresco Holding.
FL Group is a leading Icelandic investment company engaged in two areas of investments:
- strategic / private equity investments
- proprietary trading
The current market capitalization is approximately € 2.6 billion with total assets of
€ 2.9 billion.
Kaupthing Principal Investments is the private equity arm of Kaupthing Bank, a leading Bank in Northern Europe.
VÄ·filfell is the leading Icelandic bottling and beverage company.
For further information, please contact:
Refresco Holding B.V. : Mr. H. Roelofs
Tel. +31 (0)78 6321313
www.refrescoholding.com