Billson’s Beverages - Case Update

Coca Cola has agreed to acquire part of Billson’s Beverages, securing the future of the Australia-based alcohol brand.

We last wrote about Billson’s in December, when administrators Rob Smith and Matthew Hutton of McGrathNicol advised that they were negotiating an asset sale with an unrelated bidder.

Over the holidays, the identity of the bidder was revealed, with Coca Cola announcing that it would be adding Billson’s to its portfolio of Australian brands. Under the deal, Coca Cola will acquire Billson’s alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages business and key intangibles, including its brand.

The deal will also allow Billson’s current owners, Nathan and Felicity Cowan, to continue to produce their cordial, soda, and beer range under a new brand name and to focus on their hospitality business in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. This will be achieved through a DOCA funded by the proceeds of the asset sale, which will be paid to Billson’s Holdings (which owns the assets being sold). The DOCA was executed on 17 December.

The sale is planned to complete in late January 2025.

Read the administrators’ latest report here.