Primo Water Corporation and SDS-IC Announce International Strategic Alliance.
8:00 AM ET 11/29/11 | GlobeNewswire
Primo Water Corporation, a leading producer of innovative beverage solutions in North America, and Sparkling Drink System Innovation Center LTD ("SDS-IC"), an international marketing and manufacturing company specializing in home beverage carbonation products, today announced a strategic alliance. The strategic alliance will include mutual R&D, marketing, manufacturing and distribution of the parties' respective home beverage carbonation products and related accessories. Those products include 40 appliances utilizing five different beverage technologies. Through cross-distribution and licensing agreements, the parties' respective products will be made available throughout North America and mutually-agreed territories outside of North America.
Primo Water is a leading provider of purified water and ENERGY STAR(R)-rated home water dispensers and home beverage carbonating appliances with combined distribution in more than 20,000 leading retail locations in North America. Primo's newest innovation, Primo Flavor Station 500(TM), is a home beverage system providing patented, single serve, 100 percent naturally flavored beverages.
SDS-IC, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, offers complementary technologies, appliances and consumables including a new syrup dispenser called "squeeZZe," focused on home beverage carbonation systems. The SDS-IC appliances utilize the innovative FSS and FSS Turbo technology that provide an adjustable and more efficient way to carbonate beverages. SDS-IC distributes its products internationally in several countries including Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and North Africa. SDS-IC also has its own manufacturing facilities in China and multiple international technology patents.
"Our alliance with SDS-IC is a significant step forward in our development of the highest quality and full line of home beverage carbonation products. We believe SDS-IC is one of the most experienced companies in this product market with its principals having managed home beverage carbonation systems in Europe since 1999," said Billy Prim, Primo Water's President and CEO. "This strategic alliance will help bring multiple premium beverage products and appliances, many under the Primo brand, to consumers worldwide and allow both Primo and SDS-IC to create new consumers in new markets, which we believe will lead to long-term growth."
The strategic alliance includes cross-distribution and licensing agreements pursuant to which Primo Water will distribute its products outside of North America in certain mutually agreed territories exclusively through SDS-IC and certain SDS-IC products will be distributed in North America exclusively by Primo Water. The alliance will allow each party to market and sell a complete line of home beverage products and will capitalize on each party's expertise in the appliance, flavor and carbonation categories. The cross-distribution and licensing agreements provide for total minimum purchases of $20 million annually. These minimum purchases consist of a commitment by SDS-IC to purchase products from or pay license fees to Primo Water in the amount of $10 million annually and a commitment by Primo Water to purchase products from or pay license fees to SDS-IC in the amount of $10 million annually.
"SDS-IC is committed to offering consumers worldwide a complete range of products to enable the creation of the beverages they desire at an economical price and we believe our alliance with Primo Water is the perfect addition to our existing line of innovative home beverage carbonation solutions," stated Serge Bueno, SDS-IC's Chairman and CEO. "We expect Primo's Flavor Station 500(TM) to resonate extremely well with our international consumer base and look forward to expanding the distribution of the complete line of SDS and Primo beverage appliances deeper into new and existing markets."
For more information, please visit www.primowater.com and www.sparklingds.com/.
About Primo Water Corporation:
Primo Water Corporation is a rapidly growing provider of innovative beverage appliances and consumables with a razor/razorblade business model. Its consumables consist of water, CO2 cylinders and flavors sold through major retailers throughout the United States and Canada. The Company's appliances provide an environmentally friendly, economical, convenient and healthy solution for consuming beverages. Primo also makes the new Flavor Station(TM) countertop, single serve, home beverage carbonation system. Learn more about Primo Water at www.primowater.com and www.primoflavorstation.com.
About SDS-IC:
SDS-IC was founded in 2009 and is a marketing, manufacturing and sophisticated business intelligence partner bringing to the market R&D, private labels and OEM for the Home Drinking System category. The company was developed not only to supply consumers with machines but, most importantly to bring to the market their unique know-how and expertise for this category. These systems offer a range of convenient products and solutions. SDS-IC has offices in Hong Kong, China, Italy, France and Israel. For more information about SDS-IC, visit www.sparklingds.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "feel," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "should," "would," "will," and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Owing to the uncertainties inherent in forward-looking statements, actual results could differ materially from those stated here. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the loss of major retail customers of the Company or the reduction in volume or change in timing of purchases by major retail customers, lower than anticipated consumer and retailer acceptance of the Company's exchange and refill services, its water dispensers, carbonating beverage appliances and related consumables, changes in the Company's relationships with its independent bottlers, distributors and suppliers, the entry of a competitor with greater resources into the marketplace and competition and other business conditions in the water and water dispenser industry in general, the Company's experiencing product liability, product recall and higher than anticipated rates of warranty expense or sales returns associated with a product quality or safety issue, the loss of key Company personnel, changes in the regulatory framework governing the Company's business, the Company's inability to efficiently and effectively integrate the recently acquired businesses with the Company's historical business, the Company's inability to efficiently expand operations and capacity to meet growth, the Company's inability to develop, introduce and produce new product offerings (including carbonating beverage appliances) within the anticipated timeframe or at all, the failure of lenders to honor their commitments under the Company's credit facility and the inability of the Company to achieve certain minimum product purchase requirements under its distribution and licensing arrangements with Sparkling Drink System Innovation Center LTD, as well as other risks described more fully in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2011 and its subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements reflect management's analysis and beliefs as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake to revise these statements to reflect subsequent developments, other than as required by applicable law.
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SOURCE: Primo Water Corporation
CONTACT: Media
John Maples
336-331-4057
jmaples@primowater.com
IR
Mark Castaneda, Chief Financial Officer
(336) 331-4000
ICR Inc.
John Mills
Katie Turner
(646) 277-1228
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