Coca-Cola Co is planning to sell a stake in its South African bottling unit to local investors in a deal worth about 10 billion rand (US$674 million), in line with an agreement with local regulators, people familiar with the matter said.
The move would help the US drinks giant comply with a South African policy that prescribes minimum holdings in companies for blacks and other groups that faced economic discrimination under apartheid, the people said.
The deal was a condition of Coca-Cola’s 2016 buyout of former partner SABMiller PLC, now part of brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, they said.
Photo: Reuters
Coca-Cola South Africa on Friday said that its broad-based black ownership would be increased to 20 percent, without giving detail on the value of the deal.
Employees would have control of an approximate 15 percent stake, up from 5 percent, with the balance owned by outside investors.
The plan was revised from an earlier proposal to sell a larger stake and has been agreed with regulators, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman said.
Rothschild & Co is an adviser on the deal, the people familiar with the matter said.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Co is based in the coastal town of Port Elizabeth and serves 12 countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana, according to its Web site.
It accounts for about 40 percent of the Atlanta-based company’s drinks sold on the continent.
The value of the entire business is about 45 billion rand, the people said, meaning that the new investors are getting a discounted price.
The deal would help benefit employees and other partners as well as non-white investors, although the exact structure is yet unclear, they said.
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