(Bloomberg) -- The Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to sell a 40% stake in its India bottling unit to the Jubilant Bhartia Group for an undisclosed amount as the beverage giant becomes the latest foreign firm to divest a part of its shareholding in its local arm.
The pizza-to-pharmaceuticals conglomerate will acquire the minority stake in closely held Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt., the parent company of the soft drink maker’s largest bottler in India called Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt., according to a statement Wednesday from the Atlanta-based company.
Rothschild & Co. acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Coca‑Cola on the transaction that still needs regulatory approval, the statement added.
While no financial details were disclosed, local newspaper The Economic Times reported in October that the founders of the Jubilant Bhartia Group were looking to raise as much as $1.5 billion for the stake purchase, citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal helps Coca-Cola monetize a local asset without going through the rigor of tapping public markets — multinationals including Hyundai Motor Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. seized on the strength of India’s stock markets this year to offload stakes in local subsidiaries. For the Jubilant Bhartia Group, it means a stronger consumer play in the country of more than 1.3 billion people.
Group founders, Hari S. Bhartia and Shyam S. Bhartia, called the investment “an ideal addition to their business” in the statement. The conglomerate’s existing businesses include operating Domino’s Pizza outlets and American fried chicken brand Popeyes in India.
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, incorporated in 1997, services 2.3 million retailers and 2,300 distributors with over 5,000 employees. Through its 13 factories, it manufactures and sells 37 different products across eight categories including Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite and Fanta.
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