USA: Cott acquires DS Services

DS Services, a national direct-to-consumer provider of bottled water, office coffee and water filtration services, is to be acquired by Cott Corporation, a manufacturer of soft drinks products.

In a statement, Cott said DSS Group had entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Cott Corporation for approximately $1.25 billion or approximately 7.1x 2014E adjusted DSS EBITDA, including the assumption of debt and the issuance of preferred shares to Crestview Partners and other selling shareholders.

DSS Group Inc. is the  parent company to DS Services of America  Inc., a leading water and coffee direct-to-consumer services provider in the United States.

The acquisition is intended to extend Cott’s beverage portfolio into new and growing markets, including water and coffee home and office delivery services, water filtration services, and retail services, while creating cost synergies as well as portfolio expansion, the company said.

Jerry Fowden, Cott’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The DSS acquisition substantially accelerates our diversification strategy, bringing a strong home and office water and coffee beverage platform and direct-to-customer delivery network into our portfolio. DSS is a market leader in the growing water and coffee services industries.” And commenting the operation he said  “This acquisition meets all of the criteria established within our disciplined acquisition guidelines, including acquiring businesses within growing categories and with higher margins while enhancing product, package and channel diversification”.

Source: Cott