Coca-Cola To Buy AB InBev's 54.4% Stake In CCBA For $3.15 Bln

(RTTNews) - Beverage giant Coca-Cola Co. (KO) on Wednesday said it has reached an agreement to buy Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV or AB InBev's (BUD, AHBIF.PK) 54.5% equity stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa or CCBA for $3.15 billion.

Coca-Cola also agreed to acquire AB InBev's interest in bottling operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount.

The transactions are expected to close by the end of 2017. Coca-Cola's plans to account for the acquired stakes as a discontinued operation.

AB InBev has been divesting various assets following its recent acquisition of UK peer SABMiller plc.(SBMRY.PK, SAB.L), in line with its commitments to regulatory authorities.

CCBA includes the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte and Comoros.

Coca-Cola in October had announced its plans to acquire AB InBev's stake in CCBA following the closing of the ABI combination with SABMiller. AB InBev then had said that the deal would not have any material financial impact.

In its latest statement, Coca-Cola said it plans to hold all of these territories temporarily until they can be refranchised to other partners.

It was on October 10 that AB InBev announced the successful completion of the business combination with SABMiller.

Following the deal, AB InBev sold SABMiller's interest in the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brand families and associated businesses in Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and internationally. This excludes certain rights in the US.

It also sold SABMiller's U.S. interest in MillerCoors to Molson Coors.

In mid December, AB InBev entered into a binding agreement with Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. to sell SABMiller's businesses in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania or CEE Business.

The company also entered into a binding agreement to sell its entire indirect shareholding in Distell Group Limited.