(Reuters) -Dutch brewer Heineken will buy the beverage and retail businesses of Costa Rica's Florida Ice and Farm Company for $3.2 billion in cash, it said late on Monday, boosting its presence across Central America.

Heineken will gain ownership of Costa Rica's century-old Imperial beer brand through the deal, as well as a soft drink business with its own brands and a PepsiCo ( PEP ) bottling licence.

South and Central American regions have become increasingly attractive for leading brewers such as Heineken and Anheuser-Busch InBev in the face of slowing sales volumes in Europe and the United States.

The deal will unlock growth opportunities and enable Heineken to enter "new profit pools" across Central America, said Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink. 

Heineken will buy the 75% of Distribuidora La Florida - FIFCO's beverage, food and retail division - that it does not already own, including more than 300 outlets in Costa Rica, as well as operations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. 

The deal also includes 75% of Nicaragua Brewing Holding, the 25% of Heineken Panama it did not already own plus full ownership of FIFCO's non-beer business in Mexico.

The company began its partnership with FIFCO in 1986 and has held a 25% stake in Distribuidora La Florida since 2002.

"This is a strategically sensible acquisition to us, though the price paid seems high," said RBC Capital analyst James Edwardes Jones.       

The transaction, which is expected to complete in the first half of 2026, will provide an immediate boost to Heineken's operating margin and earnings per share before exceptional items, the company said.

Heineken expects its net debt to increase by 3.2 billion euros ($3.77 billion) after the deal. Net debt stood at almost 15.5 billion euros at the end of June. 

FIFCO, which makes beers, wines, non-alcoholic beverages and food, manages five production plants and 13 distribution centres across Central America, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States. It exports to more than 10 countries. 

($1 = 0.8478 euros)