Private equity misses out on Lucozade, Ribena sale

Greg Gille
@unquotenews
09 September 2013

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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to sell popular drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena, which had attracted interest from buyout houses including Blackstone and Lion Capital, to Japanese trade player Suntory for £1.35bn.

Blackstone and Lion Capital were believed to have joined forces in preparation for a formal bid exceeding £1bn at the end of June. Other private equity houses rumoured to have been gearing up for a bid included CVC, Cinven and KKR.

Suntory is understood to have pre-empted a formal auction process. GSK appointed investment banks Greenhill and JP Morgan to advise on the sale in early May, with a view to divest the assets by the end of the year. The sale of the two soft drink brands was prompted by GSK's current focus on consumer health operations.

Suntory is famous for its whisky but also acquired drinks brand Orangina Schweppes in 2009. The Japanese group floated its soft drinks operations in June, raising $4bn for future acquisition purposes.