Coca-Cola HBC AG Completes the acquisition of a majority stake In Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Egypt

On 12 Jan. 2022, Coca-Cola HBC AG announced that, following publication of its financial results for the six months ended 2 July 2021, its wholly-owned subsidiary Coca-Cola HBC Holdings BV has reached agreement to acquire approximately 94.7% of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Egypt S.A.E. from its major shareholders, a wholly-owned affiliate of The Coca-Cola Company and MAC Beverages Limited and certain of its affiliated entities for an agreed combined purchase price of US$427 million, subject to certain adjustments. This move gives the group access to the largest market in Africa for non-alcoholic beverages.

Benefits and reasons for the Proposed Transactions

• Access to the second largest Non-Alcoholic Ready To Drink market in Africa by volume, building on existing scale – Nigeria and Egypt account for c. 25% of the continent’s population
• Significant opportunity to leverage Coca-Cola HBC’s proven route-to-market capabilities and 70 years of experience operating in emerging markets to increase penetration of The Coca-Cola Company’s brand portfolio and drive category leadership
• Expand Coca-Cola HBC’s exposure to high growth geographies
• Low-single digit EPS accretion expected in the near term, with opportunity to create further value through progressively moving CCBCE’s margins towards the Coca-Cola HBC group average over time

Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, said:

“We are excited to welcome CCBCE to our group. We see great potential for this business to unlock considerable opportunities in the NARTD category in Egypt. With our best-in-class execution capabilities, commercial expertise and world leading approach to sustainability and communities, we believe there is a significant opportunity to create value for all stakeholders.  We appreciate the trust placed in us by The Coca-Cola Company and MBL, and look forward to becoming part of the Coca-Cola system in Egypt.”

Abdul Galil Besher, Chairman of MAC Beverages Limited and CCBCE, made the following comment:

“We are very pleased to pass on to Coca-Cola HBC the ownership torch of CCBCE. As a leading anchor bottler of the Coca-Cola system, we believe that Coca-Cola HBC will accelerate CCBCE’s growth ambitions, by combining its expertise, breadth of knowledge, know-how and critical mass, with the company’s deep market knowledge developed over our multi-decade presence in Egypt.”

Brian Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, said:

“This transaction promises to strengthen our system in Egypt, where the expertise of Coca-Cola HBC will be a complement to the local knowledge and capabilities of CCBCE. This agreement represents an important development in the Coca-Cola system’s long-term commitment to the growth and development of this important market.”