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Cadbury wraps up Oringina
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September 21, 2001: 4:29 a.m. ET
UK drinks and chocolate company agrees to buy Pernod's soft drink business
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LONDON (CNN) - Cadbury Schweppes has wrapped up an agreement to buy Pernod Ricard's soft drinks business for 700 million euros ($643 million).
The UK drinks and chocolate company, which last year bought Snapple Beverages of the U.S. for $1.45 billion, said on Friday the acquisition gave it Pernod's Orangina, Pampryl and Yoo-Hoo brands.
Cadbury has been in talks to buy the business for the last five months and finally won approval for the deal from Pernod Ricard workers last month. The acquisition now goes for approval by the European Union and U.S. competition authorities.
The deal fulfils Pernod Ricard's plan to get rid of Orangina, which is profitable, but in need of a boost to fund the soft drink's international development. Pernod Ricard (PRI), which also produces Havana Club Cuban rum and Jacob's Creek wine, has been looking to focus on its wine and spirits business. Pernod joined Britain's Diageo for the Seagram acquisition, which is awaiting U.S. approval.
French antitrust regulators scuppered Coca-Cola's (KO: Research, Estimates) two-and-a-half year efforts to buy Orangina in November. The deal would have increased Coke's share of the French soft drinks market to 70 percent from 60 percent.
Orangina is France's second most popular soft drink and would enable Cadbury Schweppes to double its market share from under 10 percent to 19 percent.
Cadbury Schweppes (CRBY), the maker of Dr Pepper and Cadbury Crème Eggs, said it would buy Pernod's soft drinks brands in continental Europe, North America and Australia. The company also has an option to buy Pernod's brands in other regions.
Pernod's soft drinks businesses had sales in 2000 of  466 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 63 million euros. 
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