Cott Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Eden Springs, a direct-to-consumer services provider in Europe, for around €470m.

Eden is held by investment funds affiliated with Rhône Capital. It specialises in home and office delivery (HOD) water, office coffee services (OCS) and filtration.

The purchase price is based on a debt and cash free basis.

"Our ‘Better for You’ beverage platform will make up over 60% of our earnings before interest, tax, depreciatin and amortisation."

Cott’s CEO Jerry Fowden said: "The Eden Springs acquisition is another great step in our stated strategy to pursue opportunities in the higher margin home and office water delivery, office coffee and tea services and filtration categories where we believe our platform, operating strength and synergies can be leveraged.

"Our ‘Better for You’ beverage platform will make up over 60% of our earnings before interest, tax, depreciatin and amortisation (EBITDA) inclusive of Eden and we will have strong leadership positions in both North America as well as multiple European countries."

This purchase is in line with Cott’s diversification strategy to expand in HOD water, coffee and tea services, as well as filtration services. It aims to leverage its platform, operating strength and potential synergies in these segments.

Eden generated over €360m in pro forma revenues in fiscal 2015.

The acquisition will widen the distribution platform of Cott’s existing UK / European business, as it will have access to a direct-to-consumer route distribution platform in Europe, where it can serve more than 800,000 homes and offices.

It is also expected to bolster Cott’s channel mix outside of big format retail and supermarket outlets.