Coca-Cola will pay $3.15bn for the Anheuser-Busch InBev’s 54.5 per cent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
CCBA’s operations cover South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte and Comoros. The two companies have also reached an in principle agreement for Coca-Cola to buy AB InBev’s interest in bottling Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount.
Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola’s chairman and chief executive said in a statement:
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.
Carlos Brito, AB InBev’s chief executive, 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.
As a result of AB InBev’s £79bn takeover of SABMiller this year, both brewers have been obliged to make disposals to satisfy local competition regulation. Last week, SABMiller sold its eastern European brewing assets to Japan’s Asahi for €7.3bn.