Australia’s The Original Juice Company (OJC), SPC Global and powdered milk business Nature One Dairy are set to merge and create a new company.
Former Asahi Beverages Group CEO and SPC director Robert Iervasi has been appointed managing director of the merged business, which will own and operate three divisions based on the three businesses.
OJC was founded in 1988 and specialises in chilled fruit and vegetable juices.
SPC claims to be the largest producer of packaged fruit, tomato, baked beans and spaghetti in Australia. Its brands include SPC, Ardmona, Goulburn Valley and Street Eats.
Nature One Dairy is a Singapore-registered, Australian-founded dairy company that manufactures and sells infant formula, nutritional formula and milk powder products.
Iervasi said: “With our market-leading packaged fruit, canned tomatoes and baked bean products, we are excited to expand with OJC both domestically and globally and see significant synergy potential in bringing the two producers together.”
he added: “The addition of Nature One Dairy also allows us to diversify and reach more consumers every day through our international channels.”
The currently unnamed combined business is expected to generated more than A$400m (US$275m) of revenue and over A$29m of EBITDA in its 2025 financial year, according to a statement.
According to documents filed with the Australian Securities Exchange, SPC booked A$271m in revenue for its 2024 financial year. OJC brought in A$49m and Nature One Dairy generated A$46m.
The new business will be publicly listed, with OJC’s ASX code changing to SPG. The transaction is expected to be completed in November.
OJC will issue 133 million shares to the shareholders of SPC, under the terms of the deal. The company will also issue up to 29 million shares and pay cash of up to A$6m to the shareholders of Nature One Dairy.
When the transaction is finalised, OJC, SPC and Nature One Dairy shareholders are expected to hold 15.5%, 69.2% and 15.3% of the combined business respectively.
OJC CEO Steven Cail added: “This is a transformational moment for OJC, bringing our premium portfolio of juice products and processing technology together with SPC’s iconic brands and the powdered milk business of Nature One Dairy, creating significant production capability to create a food and beverage producing market-leader.”
Cail, as well as Nature One Dairy CEO Nick Dimopoulos, will continue with the combined business for the transition period. Hussein Rifai will be chairman of the combined group.
Current OJC chairman Jeff Kennett will retire from his position after the merger is sealed.
