Blackstone and Lion complete Orangina sale

Private equity firms Blackstone Group and Lion Capital said they completed the sale of soft drinks maker Orangina Schweppes to Japanese brewer Suntory .

Suntory will pay €2.6bn for Orangina, two sources familiar with the situation had told Reuters in September.

Orangina — whose brands include Snapple, Oasis and La Casera — is the second-largest European producer in the still soft drinks market.

Blackstone and Lion had bought the producer of Orangina and Schweppes drinks for US$2.6bn in 2006, investing roughly US$600m of their own capital.