Coca-Cola strikes deal to sell majority stake in one of its biggest bottlers

Coca-Cola continues to exit the bottling business.
Tuesday, the Atlanta beverage giant announced a deal with its South African partner, Gutsche Family Investments, to sell a majority stake in Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler.
The deal is valued at about $2.6 billion. It’s expected to close by the end of 2026.
Another large Coca-Coca bottler, Switzerland-based Coca-Cola HBC, will buy the 75% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The African bottler operates in 14 countries, comprising about 40% of the Coca-Cola product volume sold across the continent.
Coca-Cola also said it agreed to a separate option for Coca-Cola HBC to acquire the remaining 25% of the business in coming years. Coca-Cola HBC has operations in 29 countries across Europe and Africa, including Nigeria and Egypt.
“We see huge growth opportunities in Africa,” Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, said in a news release. “It has a sizable and growing consumer base and significant potential to increase per capita consumption.”
Coca-Cola has sold off its company-owned bottlers for many years. It’s an effort to cut costs and outsource more labor intensive parts of its business, according to Bloomberg.
Coca-Cola promotes its global beverage portfolio and sells syrup and concentrate, while its bottlers produce and distribute the drinks in the local market.
Also on Tuesday, Coca-Cola reported its third-quarter results.
Net sales were $12.5 billion during the quarter, up 5% from the same period last year. Net income was $3.7 billion, up 29% year over year.
Coca-Cola’s global unit case volume grew 1%. Last quarter, its global unit case volume had dipped 1%.
“While the overall environment has continued to be challenging, we’ve stayed flexible — adapting plans where needed and investing for growth,” James Quincey, Coca-Cola chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
—This is a developing story. Return to AJC.com for updates.