Dos Pinos, the largest dairy company in Costa Rica, on Sunday announced its purchase of Nevada, a producer of milk and fruit juices in Panama.
This company was owned by Refrescos Nacionales, a subsidiary of Panama’s national brewery, which belongs to the multinational SABMiller.
The information was confirmed yesterday by Jorge Pattoni, Dos Pinos general manager, in a statement indicating that the agreement was signed on Jan. 18.
Nevada is located in Chiriqui, a Panamanian province bordering southern Costa Rica.
The acquired infrastructure has an installed capacity to process 100,000 liters of milk per day and produces whole, skimmed, semi-skimmed and flavored milk, and also fruit juices under the brands Nevada and Tutti Frutti Chiricana.
Dos Pinos described the acquisition as “strategic” and part of its foreign expansion plans.
According Pattoni, Nevada controls approximately 70 percent of the Panamanian milk market.
Dos Pinos, a 100 percent Costa Rican firm, has 600 different lines of products and exports some $84 million annually. Currently, the company exports to Central America, United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Aruba and Venezuela, among others.
The transaction must receive the approval of Panama’s Consumer Protection and Competition Authority to be final.
