MANILA, Philippines - Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V., the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world, has finalized the acquisition of 51 percent of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) from The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, for $688.5 million in an all-cash transaction.
The purchase price represents an aggregate enterprise value for 100 percent of the bottler of $1.350 billion. As part of the agreement, Coca-Cola FEMSA will have an option to acquire the remaining 49 percent of CCBPI at any time during the seven years following the closing and will have a put option to sell its ownership to The Coca-Cola Company any time during year six.
“Our company has started 2013 on the right foot. We recently announced a merger agreement with Grupo Yoli and its shareholders, one of the oldest family-owned bottlers in the Coca-Cola system in Mexico which serves both Acapulco and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, two of the most important tourist destinations in the coast of the Pacific Ocean. This marks our fifth transaction in the Coca-Cola bottling space in the last 18 months, representing an aggregate investment of more than $3.5 billion. Today, we are pleased to announce the closing of the transaction with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, to strengthen our position in the global beverage industry through the acquisition of a majority stake in their bottling operations in the Philippines. After almost 200 years, we now have the opportunity to reconnect the Manila-Acapulco route through the exchange of our cultures and operating best practices. More recently, we had the privilege to express our firm belief and confidence in the Philippines to President Benigno Aquino III himself, looking forward to a successful relationship with the Philippine government. We are certain that our operators have the skills and operational capabilities to take on the challenges and capture the opportunities that we have identified in our Philippine operation. Our values and culture will extend to our growing family of employees as we reinforce our commitment to generate economic, social, and environmental value together,†said Carlos Salazar Lomelin, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola FEMSA.
Coca-Cola FEMSA will recognize the results of CCBPI through the equity method as of the closing date.