Cadbury Schweppes announces that it has acquired 93.32% of Kandia-Excelent S.A., a leading Romanian confectionery business, from Kandia NV, a private equity investment holding company managed by Meinl Bank AG. The gross assets of Kandia-Excelent at 31 December 2006 were RON153.3 million (approximately £32 million).
Kandia-Excelent, which is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, is the second largest confectionery company in Romania, with a 20% market share in total confectionery. It has a number 2 position in the chocolate market with a 24% share, and a leading position in candy with a 32% share. 2007 sales are forecast to be approximately €50 million, with around two-thirds coming from chocolate and the majority of the remainder from candy. Kandia-Excelent has a single production facility in Bucharest and approximately 850 employees.
Todd Stitzer, Chief Executive Officer, said: "The purchase of Kandia-Excelent is aligned with our strategy of pursuing bolt-on acquisitions to further strengthen our confectionery platform. Kandia-Excelent has a strong position in the Romanian confectionery market, which is worth over €300 million and grew 17% last year. This acquisition gives us an exciting opportunity to further develop their leading brands and leverage their strong routes to market."
About Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury Schweppes is the world's largest confectionery company and has strong regional beverages businesses in North America and Australia. On 15 March 2007, Cadbury Schweppes announced that it intends to separate its confectionery and Americas Beverages businesses. With origins stretching back over 200 years, today Cadbury Schweppes' products - which include brands such as Cadbury, Schweppes, Halls, Trident, Dr Pepper, Snapple, Trebor, Dentyne, Bubblicious and Bassett - are enjoyed in almost every country around the world. The Group employs over 70,000 people.
Market share and other statistics
All numbers given in the second paragraph of this announcement are pro forma, assuming a candy business acquired on 31 May 2007 had been owned for the full year. In 2007, this candy business is expected to have full year sales of around €7 million. Market shares are as per Euromonitor 2006.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in these materials may constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "project", "goal" or "target" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. In evaluating forward looking statements, you should consider various factors including the risk factors outlined in our Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. These materials should be viewed in conjunction with our periodic interim and annual reports, registration statements and other filings filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available from Cadbury Schweppes plc, 25 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6HB, UK and from the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Cadbury Schweppes plc does not undertake publicly to update or revise any forward looking statement that may be made in these materials, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.