Cadbury sells Schweppes Beverages to Asahi for $796 million

14 March 2009

Cadbury on Thursday said that it has agreed to sell its Schweppes Beverages business in Australia to Asahi Breweries Ltd for around 550 million pounds ($795.9 million) in cash.

The companies previously announced they had reached a conditional agreement in December, which was subject to a right of negotiation granted to Coca-Cola Co.

The deal was made after Coca-Cola said it did not want to exercise its option, granted in 1999, to negotiate on any potential sale of Schweppes, which is best known for its lemonade and other soft drinks. Cadbury has, therefore, agreed a definitive deal with Asahi.

The terms of the deal were originally announced on 24 December and have not changed since then.

The acquisition will strengthen our international soft drinks business, create a new platform for growth in Oceania and enable us to capture syneergies across the group, Hitoshi Ogita, president, Asahi Breweries Ltd, said in a press release yesterday.

"The soft drinks business is one of the key pillars of the group. The group is seeking further growth for its soft drinks business by expanding beyond its domestic market where Asahi Soft Drinks Co plays the key role for its growth,'' Ogita said in December the deal was on its final leg.