Japan's Suntory Beverage and Food Ltd has agreed to purchase the Lucozade and Ribena brands from GlaxoSmithKline Plc at a cost of GBP1.3 billion or USD2 billion. The acquisition was confirmed by two individuals familiar with the negotiations.
An announcement would be done today, according to the same sources, who requested for anonymity because of the private nature of the discussions.
The sale of the drink brands is part of the restructuring announced back in April to allow the separation of older products from its main business of pharmacological development. Suntory, for its part, had prepared to pay JPY500 billion or USD5 billion on purchases and takeovers after its IPO conducted last July.
Lucozade is an energy drink while Ribena is a children's liquid concentrate. The two have a combined sales of GBP600 million, according to Panmure Gordon analyst Damian McNeela. The two brands are well known in the UK under the GlaxoSmithKline brand.
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