Japanese beverage giant Asahi has announced takeover bids for two major Australasian beverage companies, P&N Beverages and Charlie’s Juices. Asahi, which purchased Schweppes in 2009, has entered into a binding agreement to purchase 100% of shares in P&N, which it will then divide, selling the company’s carbonated soft drinks and cordials arm on to Tru Blu Beverages, while retaining P&N’s water and juice businesses. The split comes as an attempt to appease the ACCC, which... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced it will oppose the proposed acquisition of P&N Beverages Australia Pty Ltd by Asahi Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd. Asahi owns Schweppes Australia Pty Ltd, the second largest manufacturer of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) in Australia and the largest manufacturer of cordial. Its products include the Schweppes and Pepsi range of soft drinks, as well as the Cottee’s range of cordial. P&N is the third largest manufacturer of... ...Read more »

Schweppes Australia has added two new flavours to its family-favourite line, Schweppes Lemonade. Schweppes Limeade and Orangeade have no artificial colours or flavours and are sweetened with stevia, a natural plant extract, in addition to sugar, so contain absolutely no artificial sweetener. Schweppes said that using stevia as part of the sweetening of carbonated beverages is a “really exciting development”, representing “true innovation” in the beverages category. “Orangeade... ...Read more »

Schweppes has increased the prices of their beverages by up to 10 per cent, according to a report in The Age. Australia’s second largest soft drink beverage manufacturer will reportedly charge an extra 8-10%, representing their first price hike since 2007. Schweppes, which was purchased from Cadbury by Asahi for $1.185 million earlier this year, has denied suggestions from analysts that the rise was due to the Japanese brewing giant seeking to gain an immediate return on investment. The maker... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola Amatil’s Mother is now challenging V for top spot in the energy drink sector as Australia’s leading soft drink producer finally uses its distribution networks to capture a valuable slice of the market. After a failed launch over two years ago, the ‘new’ Mother was introduced with great success last July and, in the six months to March, shared the leading position in the grocery channel with V – each claiming a 30.1% share of the market. While taking off in... ...Read more »

Schweppes Australia, which was recently purchased by Asahi, has signed an agreement to sell the leading American energy drink in Australia. Monster Energy, owned by Hansen Natural, will be launched by Schweppes on July 1, adding to the growing list of brands in the burgeoning Australian energy drink sector. Last year, Coca-Cola Amatil showed the potential for new entrants with strong distribution networks with the successful relaunch of Mother gaining market share from leaders V and Red Bull, while... ...Read more »

Asahi’s acquisition of Schweppes is now complete, with the A$1.185 million deal going through on Friday. Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury, said the UK-based firm decided to sell the Schweppes business last year to focus all attention on their extensive confectionery portfolio. “The successful sale of Schweppes Australia has completed Cadbury’s transformation into a pure-play total confectionery business,” he noted. “Cadbury is now well positioned with a clear strategy to... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced it will not oppose Asahi’s $1.185 billion purchase of Cadbury’s Schweppes business in Australia. A conditional agreement between the firms was completed on December 24 last year, with a definitive sale announced on March 12, 2009. Asahi is Japan’s second largest brewer and the deal continues a trend of expansion by Japanese companies into the Australian and New Zealand beverage market as their home market stagnates. Kirin... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company has decided against pursuing a counter offer for Schweppes, paving the way for Cadbury’s A$1.185 billion deal with Asahi Breweries to proceed. Cadbury announced last night that they had entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement for the Schweppes Beverages business in Australia. A conditional agreement between the firms was completed on December 24 last year, but remained subject to a right of negotiation granted to The Coca-Cola Company in 1999 – under... ...Read more »

Cadbury will sell their Schweppes Beverages business in Australia for approximately A$1.185b to Japanese-brewer Asahi. The deal is pending regulatory approval and subject to a right of negotiation granted to The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in 1999. Under this provision, TCCC has the right until March 2009 to negotiate with Cadbury regarding a potential acquisition of the Schweppes Australia business. TCCC was granted the provision after a takeover bid for Schweppes almost a decade ago failed to... ...Read more »