CHOCOLATE and soft drinks group Cadbury Schweppes is close to snapping up the Orangina drink brand from French rival Pernod Ricard as part of a £419m deal.
The deal would see Cadbury buy Pernod's soft drinks brands and businesses in continental Europe, North America and Australia.
Other drinks brands included in the acquisition include the Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink and the Pampryl and Champomy labels.
Cadbury and Pernod said they were "near to agreement" on the acquisition, which would be conditional on regulatory approval and would be signed once consultation with the French business's works council had been completed.
Under a separate agreement, Pernod would have an option to sell its soft drinks business in all other countries to Cadbury at a future date.
John Sunderland, Cadbury's chief executive said: "The potential acquisition of Orangina, Pampryl, Champomy and Yoo-Hoo as well as the other Pernod Ricard soft drink brands in France and other key countries would make a significant contribution to our objective of building robust and sustainable businesses in our chosen markets."
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