Cott Corporation’s acquisition to be reviewed

30/11/05 Cott Corporation announced that the United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading has referred the acquisition of Macaw Soft Drinks by its UK subsidiary, Cott Beverages Ltd., to the UK Competition Commission for further review.

"It is not uncommon for acquisitions of this kind to be reviewed by the UK's Competition Commission," commented Andrew Murfin, Senior Vice President of Cott Corporation and Managing Director of Cott UK. "We are confident that the Commission will agree that this acquisition does nothing to diminish the robust competition that currently exists among non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers. We intend to fully cooperate with the review and we expect that the transaction will meet the criteria for final clearance."

On August 10, 2005, Cott acquired Macaw Soft Drinks, then a privately owned manufacturer of retailer brand soft drinks, for approximately $135 million USD (pnds stlg 75.7 million). Macaw's assets include production lines for carbonated soft drinks, dilute-to-taste and aseptic beverages in manufacturing plants located in Nelson, Lancashire.

Pending completion of the Commission's review, Cott has agreed to operate the former Macaw business without further integrating it into Cott's UK Division. The Competition Commission is expected to issue a decision by May 15, 2006.

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