Cott Corporation has entered a share purchase agreement to acquire Canadian water delivery business Aquaterra, in a deal worth approximately $47m.
The acquisition is consistent with Cott’s strategy of extending its beverage portfolio into higher-margin categories with low customer concentration. Aquaterra provides home and office delivery of water and coffee as well as water filtration services through Canadian brands such as Canadian Springs and Labrador Springs.
The acquisition broadens the distribution platform of Cott’s existing Canadian business by adding a national direct-to-consumer route distribution fleet in Canada with approximately 70,000 customers, the Toronto-based company said.
The move is expected to continue Cott’s shift to higher profit margin categories, improve channel mix outside of large-format retail and supermarket stores through a new route to market, and offer cross-selling and vertigal integration opportunities through utilisation of many of DS Services’ established commercial partners and Cott’s facilities.
Cott Corporation CEO Jerry Fowden said: “The Aquaterra acquisition is another great step in our stated strategy to consolidate the higher margin home and office water delivery and coffee services categories where we believe our platform, operating strength and synergies can be leveraged.”
Tim Harrington, CEO of DS Services, added: “We are very excited about expanding our business into the Canadian market and firmly believe that our established partnerships and home and office water and coffee delivery expertise will create an even stronger, growth and service oriented platform at Aquaterra. In addition, we expect to continue to capitalise on our expertise in the area of consolidating very fragmented home and office bottled water and coffee service markets.”
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024