Refresco admits Jacobs, KKR, Platinum to second round

Min Ho , Deane McRobie , Barbara Pianese and Benaiah Moses
21 January 2022

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Sponsors including Jacobs, KKR and Platinum have been admitted to the second round of the auction for Dutch beverage bottler Refresco, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

CVC previously took interest in the company, four source said, with one adding that the sponsor has since bowed out of the auction. Apollo had also looked at the asset, three sources said, but is no longer running in the process, one of them added.

The PAI-owned bottling company is marketed based on EBITDA of EUR 514m and could be valued at USD 6bn, according to a press report.

Jacobs, whose founder Klaus Jacobs established coffee and chocolatier giant Barry Callebaut, is seen as a "natural buyer" because of experience in the sector, a fifth source said.

Platinum is also seen as an appropriate suitor given its activity in related fields, including its current investment in foods producer Biscuit International made last year. Natixis Partners oversaw the process.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are among banks that are helping PAI explore options for Refresco, including a possible IPO, according to reports.

Citi and BNP Paribas are among those likely to land senior underwriting roles in the case of a listing, as reported by Mergermarket in October. Both banks worked on the EUR 2.3bn (USD 2.6bn) IPO of retail coffee giant JDE Peet's in May 2020, one of Europe's largest listings in the food and drinks segment that year.

Refresco – based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands – helps retailers bottle beverages like tea and juices from 60 manufacturing sites across Europe and North America. The business, which has grown steadily through bolt-on acquisitions in recent years, is part of a sizeable portfolio of food- and consumer-related offerings owned by PAI.

Refresco agreed to the take-private offer by the PAI-led consortium in October 2017 for a EUR 3.3bn enterprise value, after a short three-year stint on Euronext Amsterdam.

PAI, KKR and Jacobs declined to comment. Refresco and Platinum did not respond to requests for comment. CVC and Apollo did not reply to requests for comments by time of publication.