Disposal of V Water to PepsiCo

DATE
April 2008

TRANSACTION TYPE
Corporate Disposal

VALUE
£ Undisclosed

SECTOR
Food & Beverage

Spayne Lindsay & Co. LLP advises on the sale of Vitamin Brands Ltd to PepsiCo.

Spayne Lindsay & Co. LLP is delighted to announce the successful sale of Vitamin Brands Limited (“V Water”) to PepsiCo Holdings.

V Water is a leading brand in a dynamic and growing category. The brand was launched in 2005, and now has a range of six flavours. All products are made with spring water, and have no artificial sweeteners, colours, flavours or preservatives. The V Water range contains a number of added vitamins, minerals and herb extracts including Vitamin C, Zinc, Selenium and Ginseng.

The selling shareholders include the two founders, Chris Coleridge and Walter Faulstroh, a number of seed investors who backed the company in 2004, and Unilever Ventures who invested in 2005.

PepsiCo approached V Water due to its strategic interest in a fast-developing category. The V Water shareholders asked Spayne Lindsay to guide them through the negotiations with PepsiCo, and to secure a price for the business that made sense for all shareholders to accept, at a stage when the business had yet to mature.

We are pleased to have been involved in one of the sector’s most dynamic categories, at the interface between an industry giant and a small, entrepreneurial business with a fantastic brand.