GraceKennedy buying a stake in Catherine’s Peak water

GRACEKENNEDY LIMITED has struck a deal with Peak Bottling Company Limited to acquire a 35 per cent share in the Catherine’s Peak water brand. The cost of the acquisition was not disclosed and closing of the deal is subject to due diligence, the parties said.

GraceKennedy has also been appointed as the exclusive distributor for Catherine’s Peak. Group CEO of GraceKennedy, Don Wehby, says the acquisition positions the conglomerate as the single largest owner of Catherine’s Peak, which, he added, “will allow us to have greater strategic input in relation to the continued development of the brand and also look forward to the growth opportunities in the export market”. Peak Bottling Chairman Michael Bernard highlighted the prospects for market penetration for the brand among health-conscious consumers in Jamaica and overseas.

Peak Bottling has been engaged in the bottling, marketing and distribution of pure spring water in Jamaica, since 1992, according to its website. Its core product has been pure spring water sourced from the Blue Mountains. In September 2013, the company entered the purified drinking water segment with the introduction of the Purewater brand. Peak Bottling also holds controlling interest in Spike Industries Limited, which it acquired in May 2013.