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British tea brand Lipton has agreed to sell its tea production company in Türkiye to local manufacturer Ozgur Cay, transferring ownership of two processing facilities in Rize after 39 years of operations in the country, according to Turkish media reports on Friday.
The sale reportedly involves Lipton Tea Production Inc., controlled by British fund CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS S.A., which will be transferred to Ozgur Cay Industry pending regulatory approval from Türkiye's Competition Authority.
Türkiye ranks as the world's highest tea-consuming nation, with 245 million cups consumed daily and per capita consumption exceeding 3 kilograms annually, according to the latest available data.
Tea serves as a primary source of income for the Black Sea region.
The Lipton sale follows the August exit of U.S.-based JDE Peet's, owner of Jacobs coffee, which sold its Ofcay tea brand to local producer Efor Cay after seven years in the Turkish market.
Lipton began operations in Türkiye in 1986 when tea production opened to the private sector, establishing facilities in Rize's Pazar district.
A second factory in Findikli followed. In 2023, the company broke ground on its Sakarya facility.
Founded in 1871 by Sir Thomas Lipton as a retail grocery business in the United Kingdom, the brand was previously owned by global giant Unilever. In 2022, Jersey-based CVC Capital Partners, managing $186 billion in assets, acquired Lipton from Unilever for €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion).
Lipton reportedly released a statement confirming the sale: "An agreement has been reached between Lipton Teas and Infusions and Oz-Gur Cay Inc. for the transfer of shares of 'Lipton Tea Production Inc.,' which owns our wet tea processing facilities in Rize Pazar and Findikli, to Oz-Gur Cay Inc. As required by the legal process, the matter has been submitted to the Competition Board for evaluation and approval."
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