Sept 12, 2007 – Organic soft drinks manufacturer Bionade said it has refused a takeover bid by industry giant Coca-Cola.
Bionade executive director Peter Kowalsky was reported as saying that even though the offer was worth “hundreds of millions of euros”, the company had decided to turn it down. The soft drinks company declined to say exactly how much cash Coca-Cola had put forward
Chief marketing officer and associate partner Wolfgang Blum said: “This company is our baby and babies are not sold.
“There is so much more we want to do. We are just starting and we intend to remain an independent company. This is a family-owned company and it will stay as one.”
Bionade was formed in 1995 and is an offshoot of privately held brewer Privatbrauerei Peter KG. By 2005 its sales had reached 20 million bottles, which more than tripled to 70 million bottles last year. McDonald’s is already a client and the drink is widely stocked in the fast-food giant’s coffee shops, McCafe, in Germany.
Bionade currently has a presence in many European countries, including Spain, France and Scandinavia and has further plans for expansion;
“We want to do more abroad,” said Mr Blum.
“By next year at the latest, we will start in the US, Japan and Australia, and are currently looking for distribution partners. We would also like to expand into the UK.”
The beverage is the first non-alcoholic drink produced by a purely organic process through a fermentation of natural ingredients, according to the company.