The Coca-Cola Company (KO) has announced it has struck a deal to acquire the 54.5% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages African from AB InBev (ABI).
The deal is worth US$3.15bn (£2.5bn) after customary adjustments and encompasses Coke’s operations in ten African countries: South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte and Comoros.
Additionally, Coca-Cola has reached an agreement in principle to acquire AB InBev’s interest in bottling operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount.
Coca-Cola stated in October it intended to strike a deal to acquire AB InBev’s stake in its African business.
The stake was previously held by SABMiller before its mega-merger with AB InBev and has been sold off as part of AB InBev’s strategy to divest SABMiller assets it sees as non-core.
These sales have included the Peroni and Grolsch beer brands in Europe and SABMiller’s previous Eastern European business.
The two transactions announced today are subject to the relevant regulatory and minority approvals and are expected to close by the end of 2017.
The Coca-Cola Company plans to hold all of these territories temporarily until they can be refranchised to other partners.
Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev, said: “We are happy that we have been able to reach this agreement with The Coca-Cola Company in a timely manner and with a satisfactory outcome for all parties.”
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement quickly that is in everyone’s best interests,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “We will move forward with our long-term strategic plan in these important growth markets. We are continuing negotiations with a number of parties who are highly qualified and interested in these bottling territories and look forward to refranchising these territories as soon as practical following regulatory approval.”
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