Bidvest to take a sip of Icelandic Glacial

South African industrial group Bidvest will buy 14.59% of Icelandic Water Holdings for $13.5-million, the Icelandic spring water producer said on Tuesday.

Bidvest, which said earlier this year that it was looking at food-service expansion opportunities in Brazil, has the right to raise its interest to 20% in the future, according to Icelandic Water Holdings, which sells a spring water brand called Icelandic Glacial.

The investment “will enable us to broaden the range of products which we offer”, said Jon Olafsson, chairperson and co-founder of Icelandic Glacial. “The international reach of Bidvest’s distribution operations will greatly assist our entry into new territories.”

Bidvest chief executive Brian Joffe will also take a seat on Icelandic’s board.

Icelandic Glacial is distributed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Anheuser took a 20% stake in the company in July 2007 and subsequently increased its stake to over 23%. - Reuters