By Annette Shailer
British confectionary giant, Cadbury, has puts its Australian beverage business up for sale, reportedly worth $1 billion.
The division includes brands Schweppes, Spring Valley and Cottee’s and the bottling franchise for Pepsi-Cola.
Cadbury released a statement advising that a review of the company’s operations in July had led to the sale.
"As a result, we have decided to proceed towards a sale of this operation," the company said.
"The separation of the integrated beverage and confectionery businesses in Australia is now well advanced and we will update the market on further developments in due course."
A potential bidder for the division may be Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), which would have to gain clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), due to dominance in the soft drink market.
This may affect Lion Nathan’s recent $8 million bid for CCA with Lion Nathan chief executive Rob Murray saying weeks ago that Lion would not be interested in buying the Schweppes business, according to the Financial Review.