LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - JP Morgan and Greenhill have been appointed to advise GlaxoSmithKline onthe sale of its soft drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena, whichanalysts believe will fetch more than 1 billion pounds ($1.6billion).
A spokesman for Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Thursdaythe two firms had been selected following keen interest frommany banks.
The sale of Lucozade and Ribena - which are big sellers inBritain but lack global reach - is expected to attract interestfrom drinks companies and private equity houses.
Japan's Suntory Holdings has been tipped as apossible buyer, along with private equity firms such asBlackstone, BC Partners, PAI, Lion Capital, Bain Capital,CVC Capital Partners and KKR. All have declined tocomment.
Lucozade and Ribena together bring in nearly 600 millionpounds a year.
Assuming potential buyers are prepared to pay two timessales, that would point to a valuation of some 1.2 billionpounds. Analysts at Deutsche Bank, however, believe the twobrands should bring in more than 1.5 billion pounds.
GSK announced its intention to sell the products last week,following a strategic review of options.