Nestlé swallows Swiss water firm Henniez
Swiss food multinational Nestlé is to take over Switzerland’s last family-owned mineral water company, Henniez, in a deal worth SFr155 million ($128.3 million).
Nestlé said in a statement on Tuesday that it was buying a 62 per cent stake in the popular Swiss brand from the Rouge family at SFr3,000 per share.
Nestle will then launch a public tender offer for the remaining listed shares of the family-run firm at SFr5,303 francs per share, below the company’s closing price of SFr5,340 at the stock exchange on Monday.
The takeover allows Nestlé to triple its sales in its home market Switzerland. The bottled water business comprises around ten per cent of the group’s total income and is one of its key growth pillars as consumer trends favour natural, unsweetened drinks.
“This is clearly part of the Nestlé strategy to be present with strong brands wherever there is a good market for mineral water,” Nestlé spokesman François-Xavier Perroud told Reuters.
Upon completion of the deal, Nestlé will control just under 25 per cent of the Swiss bottled water market.
Vaud and Valais
Henniez had sales of SFr152 million in 2006 and an estimated total market value of SFr213 million. The company employs over 270 people at three sites in the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Valais, and sells Henniez and Cristalp branded bottled water.
The Rouge family is the majority shareholder of Sources Minérales Henniez.
“This transaction safeguards the traditions behind the Henniez company and brand. With Nestlé we have found a trusted partner to pursue these objectives,” said Sources Minérales Henniez CEO Nicolas Rouge in a statement.
Nestlé’s Swiss bottled water operations, which market the S. Pellegrino, Vittel, Contrex, Acqua Panna and Perrier brands, posted sales of SFr77 million in 2006.
With a yearly consumption of 127 litres per capita, the Swiss market is above the European average and enjoys a growth rate of one to two per cent per year, according to Nestlé.
swissinfo with agencies
Henniez mineral water originates from the Broye Valley in canton Vaud. The source was first discovered by the Romans around 50BC.
The first bottling plant was set up in 1905 under the name Henniez Lithinée.
In 1930 a local veterinary surgeon and businessman bought the rights to a neighbouring water source and founded the company Henniez Santé.
In 1978 Henniez Lithinée bought Henniez Santé and created Sources Minérales d’Henniez run by the Rouge family.
The company employs over 270 people at three sites in the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Valais, and sells Henniez and Cristalp branded bottled water.
Henniez had sales of SFr152 million in 2006 and its total market value is SFr213 million.
The company was founded in Vevey in 1866 by Henri Nestlé and is today the world’s largest food and beverages group.
It is in the top 30 of the world’s largest companies in terms of market capitalisation.
Sales for 2006 were SFr98.5 billion, with a net profit of SFr9 billion.
Sales for the first half of 2007 were SFr51.114 billion (+ 8.4% compared with first half last year). Net profit: SFr4.916 billion (+18.4% or +SFr765 million)
The company employs around 265,000 people and has factories or operations in almost every country in the world.
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