Refresco Gerber N.V., the leading European bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and A-brand owners, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the PepsiCo bottling facility in Hamburg, Germany. PepsiCo is one of Europe's leading food and beverage companies, offering many market-leading brands, including international household names such as Pepsi, Punica and Lipton.

The acquisition fits Refresco Gerber's buy & build strategy and further strengthens its footprint in the German soft drinks and fruit juices market. Included in the terms of agreement is a 10-year co-packing agreement with PepsiCo.

CEO Hans Roelofs:
"This transaction lies at the heart of our buy & build strategy and confirms our focus on expanding our co-packing business. It further strengthens our relationship with one of our key customers PepsiCo, for whom we already provide co-packing activities in France, Spain, Benelux and the UK.

Germany is an important region for Refresco Gerber and with this acquisition, we take an important leap forward in our German co-packing activities and further improve our market presence."

The acquisition is subject to approval of German competition authority and it is anticipated that the acquisition will be completed during the second quarter of 2016. The parties have agreed not to announce the purchase price involved.