January 30, 2018

Refresco Group N.V. Acquires Bottling Business of Cott Corp.

Goodmans LLP acted as Canadian counsel to Cott Corp. (NYSE:COT; TSX:BCB) in connection with the sale of its bottling activities (Cott Beverages) to Refresco Group N.V. (Euronext:RFRG) for $1.25 billion in cash. The transaction closed on January 30, 2018.

Refresco Group N.V. (Refresco) is now the world’s largest independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and A-brands with operations in Benelux, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and the US. After the completion of the Cott Beverages acquisition, Refresco continues to maintain its world market leadership as an independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices.

The transaction had a significant cross-border and multi-jurisdictional component and included Cott’s Canadian, US, UK, and Mexico businesses (excluding the RCI International division and its associated concentrate facility as well as the Aimia Foods division). Due diligence was completed and the definitive purchase agreement negotiated over a very short period of time — approximately eight weeks.

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