Cadbury plc (“Cadbury”) and Asahi Breweries, Ltd (“Asahi”) today announced that they had entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement for the Schweppes Beverages business in Australia (“Schweppes Australia”) for a total consideration in cash of approximately GBP550m* (AUD1,185m).
On 24 December 2008, Cadbury announced that it had entered into a conditional agreement with Asahi. The conditional agreement was subject to a right of negotiation granted to The Coca-Cola Company (“TCCC”) in 1999, under which TCCC had the right until March 2009 to negotiate with Cadbury regarding a potential acquisition of the Schweppes Australia business. TCCC has confirmed to Cadbury that it does not intend to pursue its right of negotiation and consequently, Cadbury and Asahi have today entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement for the same cash consideration as previously announced.
The agreement with Asahi is subject to normal closing conditions, which do not include financing or competition authority clearance conditions. Cadbury expects that the pre-conditions to closing will have been satisfied by 30 April 2009.
* As per the prevailing rate on 24 December 2008: 1 GBP/AUD 2.16
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About Cadbury
Cadbury is one of the world's largest confectionery businesses with number one or number two positions in over 20 of the world's 50 biggest confectionery markets. It also has the largest and most broadly spread emerging markets business of any confectionery company. With origins stretching back nearly 200 years, Cadbury's brands include many global, regional and local favourites including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Flake, Creme Egg and Green & Black's in chocolate; Trident, Dentyne, Hollywood and Bubbaloo in gum; and Halls, Cadbury Eclairs, Bassett’s and the Natural Confectionery Company in candy.
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