Nichols eyes Ribena, Lucozade sale

In a statement, Nichols, owner of brands such as Vimto and Panda, courted speculation by claiming: “We are monitoring the sale of GSK’s drinks brands with interest but we understand that the process is in its early stage.”​

The comment prompted reports from media such as Sky News that Nichols was being encouraged by GSK​ to team up with investment firms to launch a joint bid for the beverages.

Not entered any dicusssions​

FoodManufacture.co.uk understands that Nichols has not entered any discussions with private equity firms to date. But the firm is not denying interest in the potential of such a partnership.

A GSK spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We are not commenting on individual stories that are coming out.”​

But he continued: “We are still on track to reach an agreement to sell the two brands by the end of the year.”​

Any deal to buy Ribena and Lucozade would carry a heavy price tag and would require significant financial backing.

Considering offers​

Private equity groups Blackstone; Lion Capital; Bain Capital; CVC Capital Partners; KKR and Canadian fund Onex are among those also believed to be considering offers.

Reports emerged earlier this month that Irn Bru maker AG Barr was considering​ a joint £1bn bid with private investors after an attempted merger with Britvic collapsed. Speculation is rife that Japanese giant Suntory may also be plotting a rival bid.

Speculation that GSK was planning to sell off the brands, for an estimated £766M, first arose in March following a strategic review of its business and was confirmed by the company​ in April.

GSK ceo Andrew Witty said at the time that the company had concluded that the drinks had “tremendous growth potential”​, but felt they would be “better leveraged by companies with existing category presence”​.