Suntory Limited (Head office: Osaka; President: Nobutada Saji) has reached an agreement with the Danone Group (Head office: Paris; CEO: Franck Riboud) to acquire 100% ownership of Frucor Group (Head office: Auckland, New Zealand; CEO: Mark Cowsill), owned by the Danone Group. The sale agreement for the acquisition of Frucor Group was signed on October 23, 2008.
Frucor Group was founded in 1962 in New Zealand, and has grown to become the country's second largest non-alcoholic drinks manufacturer. The company is also growing rapidly in Australia. Its "V" range leads the energy drink market both in New Zealand and Australia.
The acquisition of the Frucor Group will enable Suntory to expand its non-alcoholic beverage business in the Asia Pacific region with bases in Australia and New Zealand, and to further advance the group's global strategy.
<Frucor Group> |
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|---|---|
| Company name | Frucor Beverages Group Limited |
| Group companies | Frucor Beverages Limited Frucor Beverages (Australia) Pty Limited Frucor Soft Drinks Limited Arano Juices Limited |
| Head office | Auckland, New Zealand |
| CEO | Mark Cowsill |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Number of employees | 650 (Total for five group companies; as of August 2008) |
| Business | Manufacture and sale of beverages |
| Main products | V (energy drink) Just Juice (fruit juice beverage), H2GO (water), MIZONE (functional drink), Pepsi Cola |
| Sales | 30.3 billion yen (Total for five group companies; 2007)
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<Danone Group> |
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| Company name | Group DANONE |
| Head office | Paris, France |
| CEO | Franck Riboud |
| Sales | 12.7 billion euro (2007) |
