Lucozade and Ribena are turning Japanese

SUNTORY Beverage & Food, Japan’s second biggest drinks maker, is to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade and Ribena brands for £1.35bn to help it expand into new markets.

The acquisition, announced by the companies yesterday, had been widely anticipated since people close to the process said last week that Suntory was in advanced talks on a deal that would pre-empt an auction of the iconic British drinks.

Suntory has plenty of cash after an initial public offering raised $4bn in June. It was always seen as the most likely buyer for the brands after GSK announced plans in April for their disposal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dr Christian Stadler, of Warwick Business School, said: “Looking at GSK’s long history, since New Zealander Joseph Edward Nathan founded what was to become Glaxo Laboratories in 1861, it started out producing milk powder while Ribena was launched in the 1930s, and Lucozade in the 1920s, but the sale of them today completes a transition for GSK that started in the second half of the 20th century.

“It has moved further and further into the prescription drug market and that is now its core business, with healthcare products added alongside them. I don’t think it is a sign that Ribena and Lucozade have been doing badly, rather that they are really consumer goods.”

Related topics: