ATLANTA, Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- DS Services
Holdings, Inc. ("DS Services"), a leading bottled water and coffee
direct-to-consumer services provider in the United States and a portfolio company of
Crestview Partners, today announced that the previously announced
acquisition of its sole stockholder and parent company, DSS Group,
Inc., by Cott Corporation (NYSE:COT; TSX:BCB) for approximately
$1.25 billion has closed.
The acquisition extends Cott's beverage portfolio into new and
growing markets, including water and coffee home and office
delivery services, water filtration services, and retail services,
while creating revenue and cost synergies as well as portfolio
expansion. In addition, the acquisition is expected to broaden the
distribution platform of Cott by adding a national
direct-to-consumer distribution channel with the approximately
2,100 customer routes operated by DS Services.
"The DS Services acquisition accelerates Cott's diversification
strategy and shifts the company from a primarily CSD and shelf
stable juice beverage business to a diversified beverage provider
across multiple channels with improved margins and growth outlook,"
said Jerry Fowden, Chief Executive
Officer of Cott. "We believe this acquisition will provide us
with the resources and scale necessary to drive our future success
and build shareowner value," continued Mr. Fowden.
DS Services, based in Atlanta,
Georgia, will operate as a subsidiary of Cott and will
continue to be led by Tom
Harrington, DS Services' current CEO and President, as well
as the company's present leadership team.
Mr. Harrington noted, "We are excited to join the Cott family,
which we believe will provide additional opportunities for our
employees and customers alike, as well as provide us with the
platform to continue to drive growth through portfolio expansion
and the capture of revenue and cost synergies."
ABOUT DS SERVICES
DS Services is a national direct-to-consumer provider of bottled
water, office coffee and water filtration services. DS Services
offers a comprehensive portfolio of beverage products, equipment
and supplies to approximately 1.5 million customers through its
network of over 210 sales and distribution facilities and daily
operation of over 2,100 routes. With one of the broadest
distribution networks in the country, DS Services can provide
service to approximately 90 percent of U.S. households and
efficiently services homes and national, regional and local
offices. DS Services is dedicated to achieving its mission of
becoming America's favorite water, coffee and tea service provider
where consumers live, work and play. Please visit our website
www.water.com for more information about DS Services.
ABOUT COTT CORPORATION
The closing of the DS Services acquisition makes Cott not only
one of the world's largest producers of beverages on behalf of
retailers, brand owners and distributors, but also a company with
one of the broadest distribution networks in the United States, with the ability to service
approximately 90 percent of U.S. households, as well as national,
regional and local offices.
Cott produces multiple types of beverages in a variety of
packaging formats and sizes, including carbonated soft drinks, 100%
shelf stable juice and juice-based products, clear, still and
sparkling flavored waters, energy drinks and shots, sports drinks,
new age beverages, ready-to-drink teas, beverage concentrates,
liquid enhancers, freezables and ready-to-drink alcoholic
beverages, as well as hot chocolate, coffee, malt drinks,
creamers/whiteners and cereals. Cott's large manufacturing
footprint, broad distribution network, substantial research and
development capability and high-level of quality and customer
service enables Cott to offer its customers a strong value-added
proposition of low cost, high quality products and services. In
addition, Cott is now a national direct-to-consumer provider of
bottled water, office coffee and water filtration services offering
a comprehensive portfolio of beverage products, equipment and
supplies to approximately 1.5 million customers through its network
of over 210 sales and distribution facilities and daily operation
of over 2,100 routes.
With approximately 9,500 employees, Cott operates approximately
60 manufacturing facilities and 180 distribution facilities in
the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom and Mexico. Cott also develops and
manufactures beverage concentrates, which it exports to
approximately 50 countries around the world.
ABOUT CRESTVIEW PARTNERS
Founded in 2004, Crestview Partners is a value-oriented private
equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm is based in
New York and has approximately
$6 billion of assets under
management. The firm is led by a group of partners who have
complementary experience and distinguished backgrounds in private
equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has senior
investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing
investments in each of the media, energy, financial services and
healthcare industries. For more information, visit
www.crestview.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS
Statements contained herein that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can generally
identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such
as "believes," "projects," "might," "expects," "may," "will,"
"should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," or
"anticipates" or similar expressions that concern our strategy,
plans or intentions. While we believe that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we
caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known
factors, and it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could
affect our actual results. All forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ from those set forth in such forward-looking
statements.
You should consult other disclosures made by DS Services,
including the risk factors included in our most recently filed
Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") and disclosures made in other filings
with the SEC, for other factors that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those included in our forward-looking
statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made
and are inherently uncertain. We undertake no obligation to
publically revise or update such statements, except as required by
applicable securities laws.
Website: www.water.com
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SOURCE DS Services Holdings, Inc.