**Newsflash** On NBN, (October 14, 1997) The top business news article was today's press release of the aquisition(sic?)...They put a positive spin on the news.
Sharad
PS Here is the whole release in case anyone missed it.
Tuesday October 14 11:38 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Clearly Canadian Announces Proposed Agreement to Acquire Cascade
Clear Water Company
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 1997-- Clearly Canadian Bev (VSE:CLV.,
NASDAQ:CLCDF) Douglas Mason, President and Chief Executive Officer of Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation
(''Clearly Canadian'') announced today that Clearly Canadian and Cascade Clear Water Company (''Cascade Clear'')
have reached agreement in principle whereby Clearly Canadian proposes to acquire Cascade Clear.
Cascade Clear is one of the Pacific Northwest's largest manufacturers of bottled still water and operates a
state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Washington State, where it currently bottles for regional grocery store
chains, bottled water companies and distributors in the U.S., Canada and Asia.
Under the proposed terms of acquisition, Clearly Canadian will assume the existing debt of Cascade Clear and will
provide funding to repay existing shareholder loans. Additionally, on closing, Clearly Canadian will pay $500,000 U.S.
and will issue up to 3,000,000 shares to the principals of Cascade Clear at an issue price of $1.75 U.S. per share. The
aggregate value of the proposed acquisition is $11,000,000 U.S. To the extent that the aggregate value of the cash to
be paid and shares to be issued, including the cost of the debt to be assumed and shareholder loans to be repaid, is
less than $11,000,000 U.S., then Clearly Canadian will issue non-transferable share purchase warrants to the principals
of Cascade Clear entitling the holders to purchase shares of Clearly Canadian for a two year term (at a price of $1.75
U.S. in year one and $2.01 in year two).
The acquisition is subject to completion of due diligence, completion of definitive documentation and regulatory approval
and is expected to be completed within approximately 45 days.
Douglas Mason, President and CEO of Clearly Canadian, said the acquisition takes place in the context of a rapidly
consolidating North American beverage industry where national brands such as Clearly Canadian are purchasing
successful regional brands to improve growth and profitability.
''This acquisition makes solid business sense and should enhance shareholder value by strengthening Clearly Canadian's
position in the bottled water business, which is the fastest growing segment in the $6 billion Alternative Beverage
industry. Clearly Canadian is acquiring a profitable company whose revenues have grown at a compound rate of 51 per
cent since 1993, a complementary portfolio of natural waters and non-carbonated fruit flavoured beverages and a
leading edge bottling plant,'' said Mason.
James J. Duffy, President and General Manager, Cascade Clear Water Company, said: ''Cascade Clear has achieved
exceptionally strong growth since its founding in 1990 thanks to high product quality, industry-leading production
standards, strong brand awareness and a dedicated team of management and employees. However, we realized that if
we wanted to continue our aggressive growth, we needed to partner with a major leading national brand such as Clearly
Canadian.''
Cascade Clear, a privately held company based in Burlington, Washington, produces Mountain Spring Water, Premium
Drinking Water, Distilled Water and Fruit Refreshers for retail sale in the U.S., Canada and the Pacific Rim. Operating
in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, Cascade Clear currently co-packs for regional grocery store chains,
bottled water companies and distributors in the U.S., Taiwan, Hong Kong, Guam and Jakarta. |
