AG Barr proposes £60m bid for rival soft drinks group

AG Barr, the soft drinks group which manufactures Irn-Bru, has announced it intends to acquire 'exotic' juice maker Groupe Rubicon for £59.8m.

Barr said the proposed deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, would tick a number of its own strategic boxes, including adding scale to its business; helping diversify and build its own product range and carving out around £1.5m-worth of savings.

The deal would be financed through existing cash and new debt facilities, Barr said in a statement.

Based in offices in Wembley, West London and a manufacturing facility in Tredegar, in South Wales, Rubicon's turnover in 2007 amounted to £27.3m, with profits of £4.7m.

The two groups are familiar with each other through Barr's production of Rubicon's carbonated drinks.

The Rubicon business was established in 1981 by Naresh Nagrecha and Vishram Vekaria and supplies its products primarily to cash and carry and convenience store outlets.

AG Barr chief executive, Roger White said the acquisition of the Rubicon business was "a great opportunity".

"The existing growth momentum of the Rubicon brand in the exotic juice drinks sector and the potential to build on this through its combination with Barr is an exciting prospect.

"The acquisition is in line with our core strategy of developing our portfolio and increasing the scale of our business through differentiated quality brands, at the same time it strengthens our position in the growing juice drinks category."