Bidcoro acquires Ribena and Lucozade maker Suntory

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has unconditionally approved the acquisition of Suntory Beverage and Food Kenya Limited’s entire ownership by Bidcoro Africa Limited.

Suntory makes the popular soft drink Lucozade and blackcurrant concentrate Ribena, while Bidcoro owns the Suntop fruit juice brand.

The acquisition sees Bidcoro take over the entire issued share capital of Suntory Kenya to address the latter’s underperformance, per a statement CAK released on Tuesday.

Bidcoro is incorporated in Kenya and is involved in the manufacturing, processing, marketing and sale of concentrates, soft drinks, and ice lollies. It is a partnership between the Kenyan consumer goods multinational Bidco Africa Limited and Co-Ro Food, a soft drinks manufacturer based in Denmark.

Aside from Suntop, Bidcoro's other brands are Sunquick and Suncola.

Suntory Kenya, owned by Suntory Beverage and Food Asia, now becomes a Bidcoro subsidiary as the company bets on its production and commercialisation expertise to revive the Lucozade maker’s performance in Kenya.

“The proposed transaction will not affect the structure and concentration of the market for NARTD (non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages). The target will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the acquirer and transfer all the contract manufacturing business,” the competition watchdog said.

“Therefore, the proposed transaction is unlikely to lead to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the market for NARTD beverages in Kenya.”

The American multinational Coca-Cola dominates Kenya’s non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage market with 65 per cent of the share, according to CAK figures.

It is followed by Delmonte, a subsidiary of U.S.-based NutriAsia, and Afia juice maker Kevian Kenya at 5.23 and 4.4 per cent respectively.