Dubai: Agthia Group PJSC, a food and beverage company in the UAE, on Sunday signed a deal to acquire Pelit Su, a Turkey-based spring water company.

The company is situated in Adana, South of Turkey and the source of spring water originates from the Toros Mountains.

The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2012.Rashed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Chairman of Agthia Group said, "Agthia's acquisition of Pelit Su is in line with our geographic expansion strategy. We embrace new opportunities in the food and beverage industry to deliver superior quality products that help people thrive and lead a more vibrant life. We are delighted and look forward to enter a new market such as Turkey, whilst enhancing our reach in the region."

Commenting on the acquisition, Agthia Group CEO Ilias Assimakopoulos said, "We are proud to expand Agthia's bottled water business footprint beyond the UAE, with direct access to a natural spring water source. The acquisition of Pelit Su, Turkey, will mark our second international expansion, reinforcing our mission to deliver superior value to our stakeholders. This venture will provide access to high quality spring water facilitating Agthia's growth into higher margin premium spring bottled water, targeting not only Turkey and the UAE but the wider GCC and beyond."

Pelit Su, established in 2009, is a family-owned company with presence in Adana, South of Turkey. Pelit Su is situated on the slopes of the Toros Mountains, with motorway access to the port of Mersin in South West Turkey, providing good transportation links for logistics.

Murat Pelit, Chairman of Pelit Su said, "We are proud of our achievements since 2009. The company has demonstrated a healthy performance and has successfully provided quality pure spring water to the region. We are confident Agthia's manufacturing and distribution capabilities along with its fine management of home-grown and global portfolio of brands will help the Pelit Su brand grow and prosper further, while contributing to the region's advancement. We would like to extend our best wishes to Agthia on this new venture."