M&A News

US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola said today it planned to buy Chinese juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group in a $2.4 billion deal that would be its biggest acquisition in China.

Coca-Cola will offer 12.20 Hong Kong dollars ($1.6) per share in Hong Kong-listed Huiyuan, it said in a statement, adding that three shareholders holding a total of 66 per cent in the company had accepted the offer.

Coke's efforts to expand beyond carbonated drinks have included buying Multon, Russia's second largest juice company, three years ago, and its $4.1bn acquisition of Glacйau, maker of vitaminwater, in 2007.

Consumers in China, as in Europe and America, have increasingly turned to juices, water and other non-carbonated drinks in recent years. Last year, sales volume of fruit juices in China surpassed that of carbonated drinks for the first time, according to Michelle Huang, an analyst at Euromonitor International.

Ms Huang said China's fruit and vegetable juice market was worth $10.6bn at the end of last year and is growing at an annual rate of 18 per cent.

Coke said it had agreed to buy a 23 per cent stake in Huiyuan, China's biggest juice-maker, from France's Danone and another 6.8 per cent from Warburg Pincus, the private equity group.

While Coke has already secured commitments for 66 per cent of Huiyuan's shares - from Danone, Warburg Pincus and Zhu Xinli, Huiyuan's chairman - the deal still needs the approval of the Chinese authorities.

Danone said it decided to sell its stake because "the price is good, it's three times the market price and reflects a [price/earnings] ratio of 50."

Danone said it was also not in a position fully to take over Huiyuan as it was focusing on the natural water segment of the drinks market.

Coke is offering to pay HK$12.20 ($1.60) a share in cash, which is nearly three times Huiyuan's latest closing price of HK$4.14.

Huiyuan's shares, which had fallen by half since the beginning of the year, closed up 164 per cent at HK$10.94.

Coke was advised by RBS and Huiyuan by Goldman Sachs.

Additional reporting by Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai- dopolnitelnij avtor