The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said Wednesday it approved Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI), the exclusive bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products in the country.
AEV and CCEP said they received the certificate of approval from the government’s anti-trust body on Jan. 30, 2024 to proceed with the acquisition of CCBPI.
Both parties signed in August 2023 a non-binding letter of intent to acquire The Coca-Cola Company’s 100-percent stake in CCBP, which has an enterprise value of $1.8 billion on a debt-free and cash-free basis.
Under the agreement, AEV will hold a 40-percent beneficial ownership in CCBPI, while CCEP will have the remaining 60-percent stake.
The final cash consideration will be subject to cash, debt-like items and working capital adjustments at completion of the transaction.
AEV said the acquisition would support its portfolio diversification strategy to enter the branded consumer goods space.
“AEV is well positioned to support CCBPI’s growth ambition due to the synergies which could be generated from AEV’s other business interests in the country,” it said.
It is one of the most diversified conglomerates in the country with interests in power generation, financial services, real estate development, infrastructure, food, data science and artificial intelligence.
AEV made several acquisitions in the past couple of years including the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Citibank’s consumer banking business.
CCBI operates 73 production lines, 19 manufacturing plants and about 50 sales offices and distribution centers across the country.
The proposed acquisition would also build on CCEP’s successful expansion into Australia, Pacific & Indonesia (API) in 2021. CCEP bottles and sells Coca-Cola products in Western Europe.
AEV’s stock rose P0.55 Wednesday to close at P48.50.