Coca Cola buys African bottler from AB InBev for $3.15b

BRUSSELS

Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to sell its majority stake in Africa’s largest Coke bottler to the Coca Cola Company for $3.15 billion, the final planned divestment following its purchase of rival brewer SABMiller. The two companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had agreed the transfer of AB InBev’s 54.5 per cent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages (CCBA). The transactions, subject to relevant regulatory and minority approvals, are expected to close by the end of 2017.

CCBA has operations in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte and Comoros. The companies have also reached an agreement in principle for Coca Cola to acquire AB InBev’s interest in bottling operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount.