Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), the Greek soft drink bottler, is to acquire Multivita, the Polish mineral water company owned by Maspex, the international food and drink producer and marketer.
In a statement issued late last week, the company announced that it was to acquire 100 per cent of Multivita jointly with The Coca-Cola Company. The price paid for the company was not disclosed.
CCHBC said that the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval from the Polish state authorities, includes a production facility at Tylicz and the mineral water brand Multivita.
Irial Finan, managing director of CCHBC, commented: "This acquisition is a significant further commitment to our operations in Poland. Multivita has great potential for continued growth in the rapidly expanding bottled water market.
"The purchase of this brand complements the strategy of the Coca-Cola system of selectively broadening its beverage brands to satisfy consumers."
Coca-Cola HBC is one of the world's largest bottlers of products of The Coca-Cola Company and has operations in 26 countries serving a population of more than 500 million people.
CCHBC already owns a number of bottled water brands, in addition to those which it markets as part of the Coca-Cola Company portfolio. In Greece, it owns the Avra brand, and last year acquired several more water brands, in association with the Atlanta-based soft drinks group, in Switzerland (via Coca-Cola Beverages) and Romania (Dorna).
CCHBC owns three bottling plants in Poland, and also has 30 sales and distribution centres throughout the country.