Bevco refers its US$14.3M Crickley dairy deal to arbitration

SOUTH AFRICA – Beverage Company Proprietary Limited (Bevco), the subsidiary of Varun Beverages Ltd, has terminated its agreement to buy Crickley Dairy and referred the dispute to arbitration.

The company said in a stock exchange filing that the deal lapsed because the sellers did not meet the conditions required to complete it.

Varun had agreed in March, 2026 to buy all of Crickley Dairy from Clark Holdings through The Beverage Company, known as Bevco, its South African subsidiary.

The deal carried an enterprise value of US$14.3 million (R238 million) at the time, and required approval from South Africa’s competition regulator.

Crickley was founded by Ken Clark in 1984 and is based in the Eastern Cape. Its milk and dairy products are sold through retailers including Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar.

Varun had said the purchase was part of a plan to expand into value-added dairy and juice-based drinks.

The collapse is a setback for one of the most active foreign buyers in South Africa’s drinks industry. Varun entered the country in December 2023, when it bought Bevco, which holds the PepsiCo franchise for South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini and distribution rights in Namibia and Botswana.

In December 2025, it agreed to buy South African soft drinks maker Twizza through Bevco at an enterprise value of R2.095 billion. Twizza runs plants in Cape Town, Queenstown and Middelburg.

Varun is one of PepsiCo’s largest bottlers and operates across India and in several African countries, including Morocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. It reported revenue from operations of 222.25 billion rupees, or about $2.4 billion, for 2025.

Varun Beverages Limited added that its international business remains stable, with long-term growth expected from new segments such as snacks and beer, as well as expansion into markets including Kenya. 

For the quarter ended December 2025, the company reported a 33% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 260 crore (US$31.3 million), while international volumes grew by 10%, supported by strong performance in South Africa. 

Jaipuria, whose RJ Corp group controls Varun, has built one of India’s largest fortunes over several decades by bottling and distributing PepsiCo drinks.

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