By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The Japanese beverages giant Suntory Holdings is in talks with banks about assembling a knockout bid to buy Lucozade and Ribena, two of Britain's most popular soft drinks.
I have learnt that Suntory has approached financiers in recent weeks about a prospective £1bn-plus offer for the two brands, which are owned by the FTSE-100 pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
It is understood to have held discussions with banks including Morgan Stanley and Nomura, although it is unclear whether it has made a formal appointment yet.
Suntory is one of the world's largest soft drinks producers. While smaller than Coca-Cola and Pepsico, it owns a string of prominent brands such as Orangina and Schweppes, which it bought from Blackstone and Lion Capital, two private equity firms, in 2009 for £1.5bn.
GSK has signalled that it is open to selling Lucozade and Ribena but has yet to take a formal decision about doing so, and is expected to appoint an investment bank to advise it on a sale process in the next few weeks.
Sky News revealed last month that Blackstone would itself consider a bid for the two brands.
Other buyout firms, such as Bain Capital, CVC Capital Partners, KKR and Lion - recently in the news because of its joint ownership of Findus, the frozen food company at the centre of Europe's horsemeat scandal - would also be expected to examine offers.
GSK, which is due to report full-year results at the end of April, could yet opt to keep the two products or pursue a joint venture with a partner, analysts have speculated.
If Suntory was successful with an offer for Lucozade and Ribena, it would mark the latest in a glut of British-owned assets being taken over by Japanese buyers.
Deals in recent years have included the acquisition of Gallaher Tobacco by JTI, and last year's takeover by Aegis, the media buying group, by Dentsu, a Japanese rival.
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