GSK’s £1.35bn sale of Lucozade and Ribena to Suntory is impressive not just for its size but also its speed.

Alongside Suntory, private equity houses, such as CVC, Blackstone and Lion Capital, were expected to line up for a formal auction at the beginning of September.

But in the end, Suntory pre-empted any auction and agreed a price that city sources said private equity would have struggled to match.

“Hats off to the sellers. They used private equity interest well – helping to spur Suntory into action,” said one.

From Suntory’s perspective, the attraction of the Lucozade and Ribena brands is obvious enough. For one thing, it reduces their reliance on the domestic Japanese consumer market which is struggling because of an aging and shrinking population and an economy in the doldrums.

Other Japanese food companies are looking at UK companies for the same reason. Mizkan’s acquisition of Branston Pickle last year is an example, and one city source told The Grocer that the giant Japanese trading company Marubeni was now looking at acquisition opportunities over here.

Suntory – which bought Orangina Schweppes for £2.2bn in 2009 – is also well placed to build Lucozade and Ribena in international markets – particularly in Australasia and Asia, where it has an established infrastructure.

After their merger fell through in the summer, AG Barr and Britvic are both understood to have considered bidding for the GSK brands.

Although they would have benefitted from synergies in the UK, unlike Suntory, neither has the international presence to grow the brands easily in foreign markets.

Furthermore, city sources question whether either had the financial firepower to mount a successful bid.

AG Barr and Britvic may both have to sit tight. That is no bad thing. Both have a lot to look forward to as independent companies. With its new factory in Milton Keynes up and running, AG Barr still has significant opportunities to grow regionally in the UK, while Britvic still has to deliver on its ambitious cost-cutting programme.

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