Refresco is an independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices. Credit: Refresco/Richard Sinon.

A consortium of French PAI Partners and Canada-based British Columbia Investment Management (bcIMC) has entered a conditional agreement to acquire Dutch beverage firm Refresco for a total of €1.623bn.

As per the terms of the deal, a price of €20 will be paid per ordinary share of Refresco.

The offer is reported to be 22% above Refresco’s average closing share price since the announcement of the Cott bottling deal in July this year and 41% higher than the firm’s closing share price in April.

In addition, the offer price is said to be around 38% higher than the Refresco initial public offering (IPO) price.

“As per the terms of the deal, a price of €20 will be paid per ordinary share of Refresco.”

Following the acquisition, the consortium intends to support the firm’s buy-and-build strategy and plans to go forward with the purchase of Cott.

Refresco CEO Hans Roelofs said: “The consortium fully supports our strategy and with its track record, financial strength and understanding of our business, they can support the company whilst we accelerate our growth plan going forward.

“They have always been impressed by our business and performance, and the agreement reached today reflects the important steps Refresco has realised since the IPO”.

PAI managing partner Frédéric Stévenin said: “Refresco is a high-quality business and an attractive consolidation platform in the beverage industry which we intend to fully support using PAI’s wealth of experience in the European food and beverage industry.”