Mumbai: PepsiCo and The Pepsi Bottling Group have jointly acquired a 75.53 per cent stake in Russia's leading branded juice company JSC Lebedyansky for about $1.4 billion.

The acquisition does not include the company's baby food and mineral water businesses, which earlier were spun off to shareholders in a separate transaction.

The transaction puts Lebedyansky's total enterprise value, including debt and spin-off related adjustments, and excluding the company's baby food and mineral water business, at approximately $2 billion.

PepsiCo and PBG will also make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares of Lebedyansky, in accordance with Russian law, in the near future.

Lebedyansky is the world's sixth-largest juice manufacturer and the largest in Russia, with an estimated market share in Russia of around 30 per cent and annual revenues in 2007 of approximately $800 million from its juice business.

''We're looking forward to building Lebedyansky's portfolio of strong, popular brands in one of the world's fastest-growing juice markets,'' said Michael White, PepsiCo International CEO and vice chairman of PepsiCo. ''It's yet another way we're transforming our product lineup to include more beverages and foods that address the growing consumer interest in health and wellness,'' he added.

''The combination of our strong brand portfolio, superior go-to-market capabilities, and talented workforce has enabled PBG to build a strong and growing business in Russia ,'' said PBG president and CEO Eric Foss.

''Lebedyansky has a reputation for excellence in each of these three areas as well, making them a terrific addition to the Pepsi family. Working together, PBG, PepsiCo and Lebedyansky will expand the Russian juice category in ways that benefit both customers and consumers,'' he said.

Under the terms of the acquisition, PepsiCo and PBG have acquired through a joint venture the 75.53 per cent of Lebedyansky held by its four largest individual shareholders. The venture is owned 75 per cent/25 per cent by PepsiCo and PBG, respectively.

Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed. PepsiCo and PBG indicated the transaction will not materially affect their previously provided guidance for 2008.

PepsiCo and its strategic bottling and distribution partner The Pepsi Bottling Group together have more than 7,000 employees in Russia and reaches more than 98 per cent of the country's retail outlets.

JSC Lebedyansky saw its production volumes grow more than 30-fold between 1999 and 2007, while its share of the Russian juice market quadrupled. Its volume market share in the Russian juices/nectars category is over 30 per cent.

With a product portfolio consisting of premium segment brand `Ya', medium segment brands `Frustyle' and `Tonus', and value segment brands `Fruktovy Sad', `Privet', and `Dolka', JSC Lebedyansky's distribution network covers all of Russia as well as Ukraine, Kazakhstan , Azerbaijan and Belarus.