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Cott Wraps $500M Cliffstar Deal

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Business First of Buffalo

 Toronto’s Cott Corp. has closed on its purchase of Dunkirk-based Cliffstar Corp.

The publicly traded Cott in July reached an agreement to purchase the beverage-maker Cliffstar for $500 million cash. The deal was completed Tuesday.

Cliffstar, whose sole shareholder was Chairman Stanley Star, has 11 facilities and 1,200 employees in the U.S.

Approximately 600 of those workers are in Western New York, where Cliffstar has plants in Dunkirk and Fredonia.

“This transaction takes the largest private label juice manufacturer and the largest private label carbonated soft drink manufacturer and forms North America’s largest private label beverage company,” Star said in a release

when the deal was first announced.

Cliffstar CEO Paul Harder will remain in place through the end of the year, while Star has a three-year consulting contract with Cott.

Few, if any, immediate changes to the workforce are expected as a result of the purchase.

In addition to the $500 million cash payment, Cliffstar will receive $14 million of deferred compensation over a three-year period. It could also receive up to $55 million for meeting performance measures during 2010.