{"id":855378,"date":"2026-03-31T10:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=855378"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:58:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:58:24","slug":"indian-billionaires-firm-officially-buys-iconic-south-african-company-for-r2-1-billion-in-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/855378\/indian-billionaires-firm-officially-buys-iconic-south-african-company-for-r2-1-billion-in-cash\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian billionaire’s firm officially buys iconic South African company for R2.1 billion in cash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Standard Bank has confirmed the successful completion of the R2.1 billion sale of South African beverages manufacturer, Twizza, to The Beverage Company Proprietary Limited (BevCo).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BevCo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India-based Varun Beverages Limited (Varun) for an amount of R2.1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Standard Bank\u2019s Business and Commercial Banking Corporate Finance Advisory team, the transaction has now formally concluded after receiving all required regulatory approvals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varun Beverages had previously announced in December 2025 that its board had approved the acquisition of Twizza for R2.1 billion in cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition places Twizza under the control of one of the biggest beverage bottling groups linked to PepsiCo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varun is owned by Indian billionaire Ravi Jaipuria. Varun Beverages is widely recognised as PepsiCo\u2019s largest bottling partner outside the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headquartered in India, Varun manufactures, bottles, distributes and sells a wide range of beverages under PepsiCo trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also operates across multiple markets in Asia and Africa, supported by scaled manufacturing capabilities and an extensive distribution footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaipuria is often referred to as India\u2019s cola king and has built his fortune through his expansive drinks and food empire under RJ Corp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twizza was founded in 2003 in Komani by entrepreneur Ken Clark. The company was built around a simple goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal was to deliver affordable, high-quality soda drinks to everyday South Africans, especially in markets often overlooked by larger competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, Twizza has grown from a regional player into a nationally recognised family-owned beverage business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company now produces and distributes a broad range of non-alcoholic drinks, including carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, functional beverages and mixers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its footprint spans across South Africa. Twizza operates three internationally accredited manufacturing and primary distribution facilities in Komani, Middelburg and Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twizza also generates a notable amount of revenue through contract manufacturing, packing and distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New era for Twizza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Its products are sold not only in South Africa, but also in Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana and Namibia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its last financial year ending June 2025, Twizza reported sales volumes of 71 million cases and net revenue of R1.689 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This performance helped make the company an attractive target amid growing consolidation in the beverages market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twizza chief executive Lisle Clark said the transaction signals the next phase of Twizza\u2019s growth journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twizza currently employs more than 650 people and has earned Top Employer certification every year since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling shares to BevCo would result in Ken Clark, the current owner and founder, and his family no longer holding ownership over the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom our beginnings in Queenstown to becoming a recognised player in South Africa\u2019s beverage market, our focus has always been on delivering affordable, quality products to our customers,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder Bevco\u2019s ownership, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Varun, the business is well positioned to scale further, access new capabilities and continue serving consumers with the same commitment, while unlocking value for shareholders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Raven Moodley, Head of Corporate Finance Advisory within Business & Commercial Banking (BCB) at Standard Bank South Africa, the sale also reflects how strong performance and market timing can unlock substantial value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis transaction affirms the strength of our advisory capability and our ability to support clients in structuring exits at the right time,\u201d said Moodley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard Bank said it ran a competitive process to maximise value for shareholders, with strong interest emerging from both local and international bidders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South African beverages manufacturer, Twizza, has officially sold for R21 billion to a company owned by Indian billionaire Ravi Jaipuria. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":855386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[853,25118],"class_list":["post-855378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-south-africa","tag-twizza"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855378"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":855390,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855378\/revisions\/855390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}