On January 30, 2018, Refresco Group N.V. completed its USD 1.25-billion cash acquisition of Cott Corp.’s bottling activities (Cott Beverages).
Refresco Group N.V. (Refresco) is now the world’s largest independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and A-brands with operations in Benelux, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the US. After the completion of the Cott Beverages acquisition, Refresco continues to maintain its world market leadership as an independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices.
The transaction had a significant cross-border and multi-jurisdictional component and included Cott’s Canadian, US, UK, and Mexico businesses (excluding the RCI International division and its associated concentrate facility as well as the Aimia Foods division). Due diligence was completed and the definitive purchase agreement negotiated over a very short period of time — approximately eight weeks — which is extraordinary for a transaction of this complexity, and spanned several countries and continents.
Cott Corporation was represented by WLG firms Goodmans LLP in Canada, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in the US and CMS Netherlands. Santamarina y Steta represented Refresco in Mexico.