Your rumour on Koala (Tribridge) was correct. Here's the release that just came across our site. Click on the Carlson On-line Profile to get this and other releases.
Regards,
David Carlson
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Douglas Mason, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation
("Clearly Canadian") and Carson O'Neill, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Tribridge Enterprises Corp. (TRI-V), formerly
Koala Beverages Limited ("Tribridge") announced today that Clearly
Canadian and Tribridge have entered into a letter of agreement
whereby Clearly Canadian proposes to acquire the shares of
Tribridge pursuant to a plan of arrangement.
Under the proposed terms of the acquisition, each shareholder of
Tribridge will be entitled to receive (i) one common share of
Clearly Canadian and (ii) .2 (2/10) of one share purchase warrant
(of which one whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase
one common share of Clearly Canadian at $2.50 per share for a
period of one year) for every 10 shares of Tribridge. Unexercised
options held by directors of Tribridge would be cancelled upon
completion of the acquisition, however, other unexercised options,
as well as unexercised warrants and other securities of Tribridge
would be converted into options, warrants and convertible
securities of Clearly Canadian on the same share exchange ratio
and with corresponding changes to the exercise price.
The acquisition is subject to completion of due diligence,
completion of definitive documentation and shareholder,
regulatory, and court approvals and is expected to be completed
within 90 days.
The combination of Clearly Canadian and Tribridge would create one
of Canada's largest Alternative Beverage companies with combined
annual sales of more than $80 million Cdn, based on 1996 sales
revenues.
Douglas Mason, President and Chief Executive Officer said: "Both
companies will win in this acquisition. Clearly Canadian gains
the "Koala" line of beverage products for Canada (one of the best
selling alternative beverage brands in Canada), together with
Tribridge's established network of Western Canadian distribution
subsidiaries. On the other hand, we expect that Tribridge's
operations will benefit from Clearly Canadian's capital resources,
proven marketing and sales expertise and industry leading product
development efforts."
Carson O'Neill, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tribridge
said: "We feel this combination will assist Tribridge in achieving
its goals of growing its distribution operations in Canada and
expanding its overall brand presence in North America. It was
important for Tribridge to find a company, such as Clearly
Canadian, which appreciates and understands our business, our
customers and our employees."
Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation is a publicly held company
which trades on both NASDAQ and the Vancouver Stock Exchange.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Company is a leading
producer of premium beverages, including its Clearly Canadian(R)
sparkling flavoured water brand and its "texturally enhanced"
Orbitz(TM) brand, which are distributed extensively in the United
States, Canada and numerous countries worldwide. Additional
information on the Company may be obtained on the world wide web
at clearly.ca.
Tribridge Enterprises Corp. is a publicly held company which
trades on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Based in Vancouver, B.C.,
the Company is engaged in the business of building company brands
and in the development of a nationwide network of distributors.
Tribridge currently distributes several premium beverages,
including Koala (sparkling water and juice), Canadian Spring
(natural spring water) and Everfresh (juice).
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation
Kelly Lendvoy
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
1-800-663-5658 (in the U.S.A.)
1-800-663-0227 (in Canada)
or
Tribridge Enterprises Corp.
Katherine A. Magee
Director, Corporate Affairs
(604) 685-6252
1-800-665-6252
The Vancouver Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. |
