Aimia Foods, the Merseyside-based food supplier with 240 staff, has been acquired by Cott Corporation of Canada for about £77m.
The acquisition is Cott’s first foray into the European food and drinks market. It currently has operations in Florida, Canada and Mexico.
Cott's chief executive officer, Jerry Fowden, said, 'The Aimia Foods acquisition accelerates our diversification strategy, bringing a strong hot and cold beverage platform and multiple foodservice relationships into our portfolio.
'Aimia's core strengths lie in the manufacturing, sale and marketing of Aimia-owned and third party licensed beverage brands across all sectors of the UK market, including Foodservice, Vending, Cash & Carry and Retail.'
Aimia Foods managing director, Rob Unsworth, said, 'We firmly believe that bringing Aimia Foods into the Cott family will provide additional opportunities for the benefit of our employees and customers alike. Our leadership team is excited to work with Cott to keep building on the strong foundation already established.'