SEAGRAM BUYS MOST DOLE JUICE UNITS

PAMELA BLAMEY

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Seagram Co. Ltd. here has acquired the majority of Dole Food Co.'s global juice business for approximately $240 million. The transaction will boost Seagram's annual juice sales to over $1.8 billion, making it the largest branded juice business in the world, according to Mark Gutsche, vice president of communications of Seagram's Tropicana Products, which will now become part of Tropicana Dole Beverages North America.

Under the agreement, all Dole, Juice Bowl and Looza trademark juices now belong to Seagram's. Dole did not place its canned pineapple juice unit on the block, however, agreeing instead to a long-term supply contract arrangement with Seagram's for this product. This was a strategic move on Dole's part, said analyst Helen Berry of Beverage Marketing Corp., since pineapple juice is usually the basis for blended juices.

"It's fair to say that Dole did it to keep a handle on the juice market," she said. "It's a very good strategic fit for the retailer in that it puts together two brands that are very compatible," Gutsche said. Seagram has created two new business units, one each for the North American and international juice operations. Seagram Beverage Group President Ellen Marram will serve as president of Tropicana Dole Beverages North America, based here, until a permanent president is appointed. The current president of Tropicana Products Inc., Myron Roeder, will move to a new position within Seagram Co. Ltd.

"Tropicana has a strong presence [in concentrate and not-from-concentrate juices] in the Northeast, and Dole's strength is the West Coast with expertise in blended juices," commented Gutsche.

Acquiring Dole's units has raised Seagram's juice business to a multinational level, because it includes manufacturing plants in Europe and Asia, said Berry. "It also gives them a lot of additional U.S. business," she said. "It adds one more dimension to Tropicana's ability to develop new blended juices."

New products will be on the way, confirmed Gutsche. "There is great potential for further development. Our intention with this is to maximize overall category sales.

"We think ultimately in the short term we can improve customer service by combining the best of both systems."

According to Berry, the acquisition now brings Tropicana much closer to the market leader, Coca Cola Foods, which produces Minute Maid juices.