Jamaica Producers Group (JP) has completed yet another acquisition of a beverage manufacturer in Europe.

In a release on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the company announced 100 per cent acquisition of the Juice Group NV and HPP Belgium NV, which positions the company to become a market leader in the fresh juice industry in Europe, operating in three countries.

This purchase follows the outright acquisition of AL Hoogester Fresh Specialist BV in the Netherlands and a majority stake in Co Beverage Lab SL in Barcelona, Spain, in September 2021.

“We are delighted to add Juicy Group and HPP Belgium NV to our pan-European juice group,” CEO of JP Group Jeffrey Hall is quoted as saying in the release.

“This acquisition furthers our strategic objective of being a pan-European leader in the fresh juice business. It allows us to expand our production capacity, drives innovation and serve our core customers even better. We congratulate the JP team in Europe for delivering on this product in the wider group,” he continued.

With each location having its own unique target market and brand, JP will continue to provide a wide range of cold-pressed fresh juices and smoothies across the continent, taking advantage of high-pressure processing at each state-of-the-art production facility.

The acquisition of the Belgium-based businesses, completed on March 21, 2023, will be included in JP Group’s assets that are set to be transferred under to the Pan Jamaica Group as part of an amalgamation agreement between JP Group and PanJam Investment announced late last year. As per the agreement, JP will transfer its core businesses to PanJam in exchange for 34.5 per cent stake in the investment management company.

With shareholders of both companies giving their approval for the merger, the completion of the amalgamation is set for the end of April.