General News
Expert Okays GSK’s Sale of Ribena, Lucozade to Suntory
GlaxoSmithKline’s sale of Ribena and Lucozade to Japan’s Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd completes a transition for GlaxoSmithKline that started in the second half of the 20th century.
Christian Stadler, Warwick Business School associate professor of Strategic Management, Christian Stadler, analysis of the deal made available to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek said that “I don’t think it is a sign that Ribena and Lucozade have been doing badly, rather that they are really consumer goods, which are more suited to a pure consumer company that operates in that market, like Suntory”
Stadler has researched GlaxoSmithKline for his book “Enduring Success”, which looks at how long-living corporations have survived for so long.
Stadler said: “This is a question of how do you structure your portfolio, and I think this is a good idea for GlaxoSmithKline. A company is constantly assessing its portfolio and research shows that diversification into related products is best for profit. The big question for any company, though, is what are related products? And GlaxoSmithKline have decided that their core business should be in prescription drugs and consumer healthcare brands such as Panadol and Aquafresh rather than consumer goods.
“Looking at GlaxoSmithKline’s long history, since New Zealander Joseph Edward Nathan founded what was to become Glaxo Laboratories in 1861, it started out producing milk powder while Ribena was launched in the 1930s, and Lucozade in the 1920s, but the sale of them today completes a transition for GlaxoSmithKline that started in the second half of the 20th century”
According to the Professor, iIt has moved further and further into the prescription drug market and that is now its core business, with healthcare products added alongside them.
“I don’t think it is a sign that Ribena and Lucozade have been doing badly, rather that they are really consumer goods, which are more suited to a pure consumer company that operates in that market, like Suntory. By having a wider diversity you increase the complexity to manage the company, so by focusing more on prescription drugs and healthcare products it will make it easier to run the company” he added
Japan’s Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd was reported to have bought GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade and Ribena brands for 1.35 billion pounds to help the Japanese company expand into new markets.
The acquisition, announced by the companies on Monday, had been widely anticipated since people close to the process said last week that Suntory was in advanced talks on a deal that would preempt an auction of the iconic British drinks.
Japan’s second-largest drinks maker has plenty of cash after an initial public offering in June that raised four billion dollars.
It was always seen as the most likely buyer for the brands after GSK announced plans in April for their disposal.
Lucozade and Ribena are well-loved in Britain, but lack global reach, especially in the big emerging markets that are becoming the focus of the British drug maker’s consumer health business.
For Suntory, however, they offer a growth opportunity to counter sluggish demand at home. Suntory bought the Orangina Schweppes drinks brand for more than three billion dollars in 2009, giving it a significant presence in France and Spain.
By acquiring a new business with a focus on Britain, Suntory said it expected to further grow sales. The purchase also allows the Japanese group to extend its reach into countries where GSK already operates, such as Nigeria and Malaysia.
Despite being on the market for around 80 years, Lucozade and Ribena have combined annual sales of just over 500 million pounds a year.
That puts the transaction on a multiple of 2.7 times revenue – at the high end of recent soft drinks deals.
Suntory, which is better known for its beer and Yamazaki whisky, said the deal would have a limited effect on 2013 results and it was “currently examining the effect it will have on the performance outlook for the following business year and onward”.
The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. For GSK, it will yield net proceeds of around 1.3 billion pounds – after tax, fees and costs – that will be used to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes.
The net gain will be excluded from 2013 core operating profit and earnings per share.
A GSK spokesman said Suntory’s bid was also attractive because it would protect jobs in Britain. Some 700 employees will transfer to the Japanese group, including around 500 workers at GSK’s Coleford factory in the west of England.
The GSK spokesman said there was expected to be very little, if any, impact on jobs as a result of the sale.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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