Friday, April 16, 1999
P&G unloads Hawaiian Punch for $203M
BY JOHN J. BYCZKOWSKI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hawaiian Punch's kabong is now cha-ching! Procter & Gamble Co. agreed Thursday to sell the 65-year-old juice brand to Cadbury Schweppes Plc for $203 million.
P&G announced in November it intended to sell the brand. Cadbury will add the sweet, fruity drinks to its U.S. line of beverages that includes 7-Up, Dr Pepper, Mott's and Sunkist.
The sale, pending approval by federal regulators, is expected to be completed by the end of May.
For its money, Cadbury gets all formulas and trademarks — including the pugnacious Punchy mascot — for the Hawaiian Punch line, but no plants or workers.
P&G employs 900 in five beverage plants brewing Hawaiian Punch and Sunny Delight. Practically all workers were expected to be redeployed on Sunny Delight, but no final determination had been made, spokesman Sebastian Lund said.
The fruit drink line is successful and profitable, but was being sold to allow the company to focus on other brands within the $4.4 billion food and beverage group, he said.
“We want to build and globalize our key brands, Pringles and Sunny Delight, and develop new businesses, such as Olean,” he said.
It's clear, however, the line never lived up to the company's expectations. P&G bought Hawaiian Punch in 1990 from Del Monte Corp. for $150 million.
“Building brands is our business, and Hawaiian Punch is a great brand with worldwide potential,” said then-Chairman Edwin L. Artzt.
But Hawaiian Punch remains mostly a U.S. brand with little foreign presence. Back then, the brand had annual sales of $130 million. For the year ended June 1998, sales were $133.3 million.
Cadbury recently agreed to sell its non-U.S. beverage business to the Coca-Cola Co. for $1.85 billion. Cadbury also owns Crush, another former P&G beverage line.
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