KKR is buying a majority stake in Refresco, a beverage solutions company with a network of bottling and warehousing assets in Europe and North America.

KKR, which is making the investment primarily through its global infrastructure strategy, said it has agreed to buy the majority stake in Refresco, with existing investors, PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment (BCI) Management Corporation, maintaining a significant minority stake.

Financial details were undisclosed.

Founded in 1999, Refresco provides beverage solutions for retailers and branded beverage companies through its network of bottling, warehousing, logistics and other operational assets. The company鈥檚 production platform includes over 70 majority-owned manufacturing sites in Europe, the US, Canada and Mexico.

KKR said it will support Refresco as it expands its global footprint. 

James Cunningham, partner at KKR, said Refresco has a strong commitment to sustainability, which is an important differentiator for its customers.

鈥淲e look forward to leveraging our operational expertise from across the KKR platform to support the company鈥檚 continued growth and further advance the sustainability of its value chain,鈥� Cunningham said.

Hans Roelofs, CEO of Refresco, said: 鈥淭o support further growth, we have explored the various alternatives available to us and believe that the investment by KKR is an incredibly positive development for the company.

鈥淟ike our existing shareholders, KKR is supportive of our strategy and will bring operational expertise, access to capital and a well-established network to support us in our growth, innovation and M&A strategy.鈥�

Fr茅d茅ric St茅venin, managing partner of PAI Partners, said: 鈥淲e are proud to have been instrumental in Refresco鈥檚 growth since we initiated our investment with BCI in 2018.

鈥淲e are even more excited about the prospect of continuing to stay a part of Refresco鈥檚 strong growth trajectory alongside KKR.鈥�

Julian Remedios, senior managing director, private equity, BCI, said: 鈥淎s an institutional investor with a long-term perspective, supporting strong management teams and market-leading companies is core to our private equity programme.

鈥淲e are in full agreement with Fr茅d茅ric鈥檚 comments and are very happy to continue this partnership with management, PAI and KKR.鈥�

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