PepsiCo Gets Russian OK to Close Wimm-Bill-Dann Deal

PURCHASE, N.Y.PepsiCo Inc. has received all Russian regulatory approvals required as conditions to completing the acquisition Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC,  Russia's leading branded food and beverage company.

Per the acquisition agreement, a subsidiary of PepsiCo will acquire approximately 66 percent of Wimm-Bill-Dann from a group of shareholders and subsidiaries of Wimm-Bill-Dann for approximately $3.8 billion. PepsiCo plans to close the acquisition, which remains subject to the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions, on or about Feb. 8, 2011. After closing the acquisition agreement, PepsiCo will own approximately 77 percent of the total outstanding ordinary shares of Wimm-Bill-Dann.

The acquisition will make PepsiCo the largest food and beverage business in Russia and strengthen the company's position in the Eastern European and Central Asian markets. The deal also will raise PepsiCo's annual global revenues from nutritious and functional foods from approximately $10 billion to nearly $13 billion and moves the company closer to its strategic goal of building a $30 billion nutrition business by 2020.

Wimm-Bill-Dann controls more than 40 percent of the Russia juice and 30 percent of its dairy markets