Companies

Belgium beer maker sells Coca-Cola Africa stake for Sh315bn

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Coca- Cola chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent with the safety box that contains the 125-year-old secret Coke formula. He hailed the deal, saying it took interests of all parties. PHOTO | AFP

Belgium-based beer maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has exited the Africa soft drinks by selling its stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) for Sh315 billion.

The deal will see the world’s leading beer maker cede its entire 54.5 per cent stake in CCBA’s companies in Kenya and in nine other countries.

The Coca-Cola Company chairman Muhtar Kent hailed the deal, saying it took interests of all parties.

Mr Kent said Coca-Cola will now concentrate on implementing a long-term strategic plan to grow its market niche across Africa.

The takeover grants The Coca-Cola company directly control of all CCBA operations in Africa where they have production plants of the world famous soft drinks among them Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Krest, Minute Maid, Dasani water and Stoney.

The statement said the deal had been concluded in principle, but will await regulatory and minority shareholder approvals expected to be received by end of 2017.

AB InBev and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) had also agreed that The Coca-Cola Company acquires AB InBev’s interests in bottling operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount of money.

“We are continuing negotiations with a number of parties who are highly qualified and interested in these bottling territories and look forward to re-franchising these territories as soon as practical following regulatory approvals,” the Coca-Cola chief executive said.

AB InBev chief executive Carlos Brito described the deal as timely and was satisfactory to all parties.

CCBA controls a 40per cent stake of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa and holds a 48 per cent market share in the Kenyan market through its subsidiary Nairobi Bottlers with the rest held by the Equator bottlers (12 per cent), Coast Bottlers (11 per cent) and Centum owned-Almasi bottlers(29 per cent). 

AB InBev, a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium with secondary listings in Mexico and South Africa bourses has over 400 beer brands among them Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artoi, Castle and Modelo Especial among others employing  200,000 people in their plants based in 50 countries.

Other CCBA companies affected by the takeover are based in South Africa, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte and Comoros.