Danish brewing and beverage company Royal Unibrew has purchased mineral source Aqua d’Or, the leading Scandinavian mineral water producer with a strong market presence in Denmark and Sweden. The acquired activities comprise a modern production facility in Central Jutland, Denmark.
Seller is French food and beverage company Danone which owns brands such as Volvic, Evian and Badoit. Danone announced last year to review its international brand portfolio and take a closer look at its Danish mineral water operations, among others. “This sale is part of Danone’s strategic portfolio review and of the continuous optimization of its capital allocation,” the company announced today.
Aqua d’Or produces predominantly still and sparkling water and the company’s focus on healthy beverages fits strategically very well with Royal Unibrew’s focus on no/low calorie beverages, Royal Unibrew’s new CEO Lars Jensen (inside.beer, 25.8.2020) said in a statement today.
Aqua d’Or generated with 75 employees revenues of about DKK 180 million (USD 27m) in 2020. The company was founded in 1998 and sells brands like Aqua d’Or, Klar and Denice as well as private products to individual customers.
Closing of the transaction is subject to approval from the Danish Competition Authority, which is expected during the first half of 2022.
Royal Unibrew, Denmark’s second largest brewing group after Carlsberg, and headquartered in Faxe, Denmark, has acquired several producers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the last years.
In 2018, it bought Bev.Con, a marketing company which first introduced energy drinks to the Danish market and which sells brands like CULT Energy, Shaker and Mokaï. (inside.beer, 29.6.2018)
The same year, Royal Unibrew also said it would buy French craft lemonade companyEtablissements Geyer Fréres and soon later also Terme di Crodo from Gruppo Campari in Italy. (inside.beer, 10.1.2019)
In June, Royal Unibrew bought Denmark’s oldest family-run brewery, Bryggeriet S. C. Fuglsang in Haderslev including its non-alcoholic subsidiary Mineralvandsfabrikken Frem in Ribe. (inside.beer, 18.6.2021)
One month later, it acquired 100% of MC Energy - a French Energy Drinks company, which holds around 10% volume share in the fast-growing energy drinks market.
In October, the company scored its latest coup with the purchase of Solera Beverage Group, a leading importer and distributor of international imported wines, beers, soft drinks and other beverages across Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Danone is not the only international food giant to reorganize its mineral water business. In February, Nestlé announced that it had reached an agreement to sell its regional spring water brands, purified water business and beverage delivery service in the U.S. and Canada to investment firm One Rock Capital Partners in partnership with family-owned Metropoulos & Co. for USD 4.3 billion. (inside.beer, 17.2.2021)
