A group of investors led by the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. has confirmed a cash public offer to acquire European beverage company Refreshco Group.
The Canadian pension fund and French private equity group PAI Partners agreed on the offer in October 2017, but on Tuesday the consortium, which also includes Cubalibre Holdings Inc., said in a news release that certain major shareholders holding 26.5 per cent of all issued and outstanding shares, have agreed to support the offer and tender their shares, provided that the executive and supervisory boards continue to recommend the offer.
Read: bcIMC part of group proposing takeover of beverage company
The offer includes a number of non-financial terms, including supporting Refreshco’s buy-and-build strategy, maintaining the existing rights and benefits of all employees, and the requirement that the headquarters and central management of the company remain in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
“I am excited to announce the next step in the development of our company with the launch of the offer today,” said Hans Roelofs, chief executive officer of Refresco, in a news release. “Over the past 17 years, Refresco has successfully implemented its buy-and-build strategy with 22 acquisitions.
“It is exactly because of this strategy that the consortium is interested in the acquisition of Refresco, and with their full support of our strategy going forward, we will be able to further accelerate our growth plans.”