Coca-Cola Amatil, Australia's largest beverage company, has announced plans to sell its historic SPC fruit and vegetables processing business to Shepparton Partners Collective for A$40 million (€24.80 million).
It expects a profit of A$10 - A$15 million (€6.2 - €9.3 million) through the deal, taking into account forecasted working capital balances, working capital adjustments to the sale price, and the cost of disposal.
The agreement also includes a four-year deferred payment which, subject to business performance, could result in up to an additional $15 million (€9.3 million) of sale proceeds.
The deal is expected to close before the end of June, the beverage giant said.
'Opportunities For Innovation'
Commenting on the deal group managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil, Alison Watkins, said, "Shepparton Partners Collective recognises the value of SPC’s brands, the opportunities for innovation and category growth in Australia, and its export potential."
In August of 2018, Coca-Cola Amatil launched a review and divestment process, with the new owners committing to expand the Goulburn Valley-based business and offering employment to all permanent staff.
Shepparton Partners Collective is a joint venture between Perma Funds Management and The Eights.
Managing director of Perma, Hussein Rifai, said, "We are delighted to have acquired SPC, one of Australia’s most iconic businesses. We believe there is enormous opportunity to grow this unique 100-year-old brand [...] domestically and internationally."
Transformation
SPC managing director Reg Weine welcomed the decision to divest the business and described it as an opportunity for the company to continue its transformation and pursue new opportunities in domestic and international markets.
"In recent years we’ve grown our market share in tomatoes and we recently launched Australia’s first organic canned tomato. Our award-winning functional food range - ProVital continues to grow and gain support with dieticians and our enhanced processing and automation capability has opened up new export markets," Weine added.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
