Coca-Cola's Bottling Arm To Revive Plans To Sell Its Business: Report

The bottling arm of Coca-Cola, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), is reportedly reviving plans to sell its business. This comes as the valuation of the company is up again in the post-pandemic recovery. The operations could be split among several bottlers or go to a single company, according to The Economic Times.

The company began the process to sell the unit in 2019.

"Coca-Cola had begun the divestment process in end-2019, by selling off its bottling units in the north, which accounted for 10 per cent of its bottling operations. But plans to sell the remaining business were halted as Covid struck. Now, the process is being revived," an official aware of the development told ET.

HCCB will sell its 16 units and it might take 12 months to conclude the deal. Coca-Cola is the biggest player in the Indian soft drink market with brands like Thums Up, Sprite, Coke and Minute Maid.

The task has been given to Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who was appointed the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company in 2022.

"Rodriguez, who has been associated with the company for over two decades across various markets, has been mandated to divest the bottling business by Coca-Cola headquarters," another official told ET.

"Potential buyers would include industrial houses, including some of Coca-Cola's independent global bottling associates. Coca-Cola's existing Indian franchisee bottling partners may not have the bandwidth to buy out the national bottling operations," the official added.

In 2021-22, the company reported a net profit of Rs 375.4 crore. The total income was up 30.6 per cent to Rs 9,147 crore. In FY22, the company had invested Rs 680 crore on manufacturing, additional capacity expansion on visi-coolers, distribution and logistics.