Coca-Cola sells its stake in another major bottler. This one is in the U.S.
Weeks after announcing it will sell a majority stake in its biggest bottler in Africa, Coca-Cola has sold its holdings in a major domestic bottling partner.
Coca-Cola last week said it sold its minority stake in its largest U.S. bottler, a deal valued at about $2.4 billion.
The Atlanta beverage company on Nov. 7 said its subsidiary sold all outstanding shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated, a Charlotte-based bottler that serves about 60 million consumers.
The bottler makes, sells and distributes about 300 Coca-Cola brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Coca-Cola had owned 24.4% of the bottler’s shares, according to a May proxy statement from Coca-Cola Consolidated.
“Coca-Cola Consolidated has been a valued strategic partner for well over a century,” Henrique Braun, Coca-Cola chief operating officer, said in a news release. With the transaction, Coca-Cola also relinquishes its seat on the bottler’s board of directors.
The transaction signals the end of an era in which Coca-Cola kept a stake in key bottlers to have a voice in how they operated, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade publication Beverage Digest.
“It’s a sign they are comfortable with the bottler governance system they have built for the past 15 years,” he said.
For years, Coca-Cola has reduced its involvement in bottling, a capital-intensive part of its business. The company focuses on brand development and selling syrup and concentrate. Its bottlers produce and distribute the drinks in the markets they serve.
The Coca-Cola Consolidated transaction is “a strong signal of our mutual confidence in the long-term health of the U.S. Coca-Cola system,” J. Frank Harrison III, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Consolidated, said in the release.
It might have been a prime time for Coca-Cola to sell, Stanford added. Coca-Cola Consolidated’s share prices are near historic highs in what’s been a volatile year for the stock market because of global trade wars and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
Coca-Cola Consolidated paid $127 per share for 18.8 million shares of common stock owned by the Coca-Cola subsidiary, according to the release.
Shares of Coca-Cola Consolidated were trading at more than $142 as of midday Monday.
It’s not clear what Coca-Cola intends to do with the proceeds.
Coca-Cola announced another big deal last month.
The beverage company said it will sell a majority stake in Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, a transaction valued at about $2.6 billion. Another large Coca-Cola bottler, Switzerland-based Coca-Cola HBC, will buy the 75% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.
In 2024, Coca-Cola said its bottling investments made up 13% of its net revenue, down from 52% in 2015. When the Africa deal closes, the company expects bottling investments to represent about 5% of its net revenue.
“We now have a system that is super capable and set up to drive growth well into the future,” James Quincey, Coca-Cola chairman and CEO, said last month during an earnings call, when talking about reducing its bottling investments.
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