PepsiCo To Acquire Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods To Become Largest Food and Beverage Vendor In Russia

PepsiCo plans to acquire 66% of Russia's Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods in a deal valued at approximately $3.8 billion, subject to regulatory approval in Russia. PepsiCo will seek to acquire the remaining shares after the deal has been completed. Wimm-Bill-Dann manufactures dairy products and juice, and the acquisition will make PepsiCo the largest manufacturer of food and beverage products in the country. It will raise PepsiCo’s annual global revenues in nutrition from $10 billion to some $13 billion, moving the company nearer its objective of expanding its nutrition business to $30 billion by 2020. Aside from potentially giving PepsiCo some $100 million in synergy-based savings by 2014, the merger will make PepsiCo the largest food and beverage company in Russia, double the size of its nearest rival in the market. The deal should help PepsiCo leverage the potential of the health and wellness trend in a large economy that is growing fast and has a burgeoning middle class of increasingly affluent consumers.