JP acquires Spanish juice company
Published:Wednesday | September 8, 2021 | 12:06 AM
Jamaica Producers Group Limited, JP, has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Co-Beverage Labs, CBL, a juice company based in Spain.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but JP Managing Director Jeffrey Hall described the acquisition as “a platform investment” and important step for growth into new markets. It was financed from internal resources, he said.
Barcelona-based CBL makes natural juices, without colourants or preservatives, to the specifications of its clients.
“CBL serves a range of customers in Southern Europe and will target business opportunities in that market,” said Hall in a press release on the acquisition.
“CBL is a useful platform for growth. We believe it has the team and the facilities to benefit from JP’s larger established footprint and overall expertise in fresh juice,” he said.
JP is now the largest shareholder in Co-Beverage. The other shareholders are experts in the juice business, Hall said.
The acquisition will fortify JP’s food and drink business segment which already contributes the bulk of group revenue, accounting for $12.7 billion of the total $21 billion earned in year 2020.
JP’s European operations narrowly edged its home market of Jamaica in revenue contribution, at $9.3 billion compared to $9.2 billion, respectively, last year, followed by United States, $1.37 billion; other Caribbean countries, $727.2 million; and other countries at $28.1 million.
Within Europe, which accounted for 44 per cent of revenue, the Netherlands contributed the lion’s share of $6.75 billion. It’s the country in which JP subsidiary A.L. Hoogesteger, a fresh juice producer that distributes to European markets, operates.