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Suntory Beverage and Foods, a Japanese group with interests in food and drinks production, is taking over GlaxoSmithKline’s brands Lucozade and Ribena in Nigeria. This is sequel to the agreement reached in 2013 between the two companies, which saw SBF buy the brands from the UK firm. The deal was worth £1.35 billion. As part of the agreement, GSK was to continue to make and sell Ribena and Lucozade in Nigeria under license from Suntory. The latest move by the Tokyo-listed company will involve the take-over of these operations.Ribena-Lucozade-IMG

The transfer of operations to Suntory is part of a much wider drive by GlaxoSmithKline to narrow its focus to its pharmaceutical and vaccine operations. On the other hand, Japanese drinks companies are trying to spread out their nets beyond an intensively competitive market on their home front.Lucozade_Ribena_Suntory

Representatives of GSK consumer Nigeria plc. have said that the absorption of its manpower capacities by the SBF will help it concentrate on its pharmaceutical business and employ more Nigerians in that line of business.

The deal is subject to approval by GSK’s shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting slated to take place on July 4, 2016. Movements within the company’s Nigeria operations indicate that the takeover already in full swing.

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This article was first published on 30th June 2016

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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