Tata, Nestle eye US-based iced tea maker AriZona Beverage: report
09 Jul 2011
Tata Global Beverages Ltd, the $1.5-billion branded tea giant is reported to have shown an interest in acquiring US-based iced tea maker AriZona Beverage Co.
Citing a report from New York-based privately held trade publication Beverage Digest, which based its information on several sources, Reuters said that two companies, Tata Global and Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, have held talks with privately held AriZona.
Beverage Digest's sources that AriZona could be valued between $3 billion and $4.25 billion.
Founded in 1971, New York-based AriZona is the leader in ready-to-drink tea beverages in the US and beats larger rivals like Pepsi-Unilever's Nestea, Unilever-Pepsi's Lipton Iced Tea and Cadbury-Schweppes iced-tea brand Snapple.
The company makes tea, diet tea, iced tea, organic tea, palmer products, half-and-half products, juice blends, juices, tea bags, coffee, powdered tea mixes, sport drinks, fast shots, energy drinks, flavoured waters and smoothies.
Its products, which are popular among high school and university students and young adults, are sold through a network of stores in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, South Pacific, Asia, and Mexico.