PepsiCo To Sell Tropicana, Other Juice Brands In $3.3B Deal

BRADENTON, FL — PepsiCo Inc. announced Tuesday that it will sell the Bradenton-based Tropicana, as well as Naked and other select juice brands, to a private equity firm, PAI Partners, in a $3.3 billion deal.

The company will retain a 39 percent non-controlling interest in PAI’s newly formed joint venture, PepsiCo said in a news release.

PAI will be the majority shareholder of the venture, while the New York-based PepsiCo retains exclusive U.S. distribution rights to the portfolio of brands in its best-in-class, chilled Direct Store Delivery for small-format and foodservice channels, according to the news release.

The sale is expected to later this year or early next year.

"This joint venture with PAI enables us to realize significant upfront value, whilst providing the focus and resources necessary to drive additional long-term growth for these beloved brands," PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement.

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These juice businesses delivered approximately $3 billion in net revenue in 2020 with operating profit margins that were below PepsiCo's overall operating margin in 2020, according to the company’s news release. PepsiCo said it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to strengthen its balance sheet and to make investments in the business.

Laguarta said the sale of these brands “will free us to concentrate on our current portfolio of diverse offerings, including growing our portfolio of healthier snacks, zero-calorie beverages and products like SodaStream which are focused on being better for people and the planet."

PepsiCo bought Tropicana in 1998 and the Naked juice brand about 10 years later. It was heading in another direction by 2018 when it bought SodaStream, the carbonated drink machine company, for more than $3 billion, according to the Associated Press.

Tropicana was founded in Bradenton in 1947 by Italian immigrant Anthony T. Rossi, according to Sarasota magazine. He started by producing and delivering fresh-squeezed orange juice to those living in the area. After finding a way to pasteurize a juice, by 1954 he was shipping juice across the country.

Today, Tropicana is the No. 1 global fruit brand and it’s distributed in 70 countries, according to the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. The company continues to manufacture its juice products — more than 87 million bottles of juice a year — in Bradenton, employing around 1,000 people, the EDC added.