The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Lucas Bols and De Kuyper Royal Distillers have entered into an agreement to sell their alcoholic beverage business Avandis to Refresco for €25 million. Based in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, Avandis is owned in equal share by Lucas Bols and De Kuyper as part of a joint venture established in 2001. The acquisition of Avandis offers a range of contract manufacturing solutions to brand owners in the alcohol industry, as well as having one of "Europe’s most advanced" bottling facilities for distilled beverages. As part of the deal, Refresco entered into a long-term manufacturing agreement with both Lucas Bols and De Kuyper to invest and expand the Avandis business. Lucas Bols CEO, Huub van Doorne, said: “We are confident that Refresco offers the best environment for Avandis to thrive. The transaction allows us to fully focus on our core activity: creating great cocktail experiences around the globe. We will benefit from Refresco’s size, scale and expertise in manufacturing beverages as our brands will continue to be manufactured by Avandis under the new ownership.” “This transaction is a strategic step forward for us, as we will be able to focus on building and marketing our premium cocktail liqueur brands according to our vision to “Own the Cocktail” while leveraging Refresco’s platform and capabilities," added Mark de Witte, CEO of De Kuyper. Hans Roelofs, CEO of Refresco, commented: “This acquisition is a step change in expanding our offering to customers in the alcohol category and complements our existing hard liquor capabilities in Europe. As part of our Buy&Build strategy, we aim to expand in beverage categories that offer significant growth potential. As alcohol is one of those categories, this acquisition will make for a great fit and perfectly suits our company vision of ‘Our drinks on every table’.” The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.