The Coca-Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investments have agreed to sell a controlling 75 percent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company AG (Coca-Cola HBC) in a transaction valued at US$2.6 billion.
The transaction values Coca-Cola Beverages Africa at an equity value of US$3.4 billion, establishing Coca-Cola HBC as the controlling shareholder in Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler and one of the most important strategic acquisitions in the company’s history.
Under the terms of the agreement, Coca-Cola HBC will acquire 41.52 percent of CCBA from The Coca-Cola Company, which currently holds 66.52 percent, and the remaining 33.48 percent from Gutsche Family Investments.
Once completed, Coca-Cola HBC will own 75 percent of CCBA, while The Coca-Cola Company will retain a 25 percent interest.
The agreed valuation implies a purchase price of approximately US$2.55 billion, including about US$1.41 billion for Coca-Cola’s shares and US$1.14 billion for GFI’s stake.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals.
Coca-Cola HBC will also hold an option to acquire the remaining 25 percent within six years of closing, paving the way for full ownership of the African bottler by the early 2030s.
Major Turning Point
For The Coca-Cola Company, the deal represents a defining step in a decade-long transformation of its operating model.
Since 2015, Coca-Cola has been systematically reducing its ownership of bottling operations around the world to focus more tightly on brand ownership, product innovation, and marketing, while delegating manufacturing and distribution to independent bottlers.
In 2015, bottling investments made up 52 percent of Coca-Cola’s consolidated net revenue. By 2024, that figure had fallen to 13 percent, and following the sale of its controlling stake in CCBA, it is expected to decline further to roughly 5 percent.
The company has employed the same strategy across key markets, including India, where in 2025 it sold a 40 percent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages to the Jubilant Bhartia Group while retaining 60 percent.
“Coca-Cola HBC is a strong and valued bottler that will help usher in the next chapter of growth for CCBA,” said Henrique Braun, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
“Coca-Cola HBC has demonstrated a strong track record of growing our system across Africa, with market share gains in Egypt and robust performance in Nigeria.
This transaction continues our strategy of refranchising our bottling operations to trusted partners while maintaining alignment across the Coca-Cola system.”
Africa’s Bottling Powerhouse
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is a cornerstone of Coca-Cola’s operations on the continent.
Letters to My Younger Self: Robinah Siima — “Success Is Quieter, But Richer”Headquartered in South Africa, CCBA operates in 14 African countries and accounts for about 40 percent of Coca-Cola’s total beverage volumes across Africa.
Formed in 2016 through the merger of several regional bottlers, CCBA was designed to create scale, efficiency, and investment capability in one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.
With this acquisition, Coca-Cola HBC becomes the single largest Coca-Cola bottler in Africa, representing roughly two-thirds of the system’s total volume on the continent and serving over half of Africa’s population.
“We are very excited to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in CCBA, with a path to full ownership,” said Zoran Bogdanovic, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola HBC.
“Africa has a sizable and growing consumer base and significant potential to increase per capita consumption. We believe we can unlock this growth and create value for our shareholders by leveraging our commercial expertise, sustainability focus, and operational capabilities.”
Bogdanovic added that Coca-Cola HBC’s long-standing experience in Africa with nearly 75 years since its founding in Nigeria, gives it the foundation and regional insight to accelerate CCBA’s growth trajectory.
He emphasized that the company’s success in acquiring and integrating Coca-Cola’s bottling business in Egypt in 2022 has strengthened its confidence in Africa’s potential.
A Complex Ownership Structure
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, now formally known as Coca-Cola HBC AG, is one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers, headquartered in Steinhausen, Switzerland.
Its shares are publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CCH, with a secondary listing on the Athens Exchange.
Coca-Cola HBC has a unique mixed ownership structure that blends corporate partnership with family and institutional investment.
The Coca-Cola Company holds a 21.59 percent stake, maintaining a significant minority position that ensures close strategic alignment within the Coca-Cola system.
The Leventis family, which founded the bottling business and helped expand it across Europe and Africa, owns 23.55 percent of the company.
The remainder, roughly 55 percent,is held by a broad base of institutional and individual investors, including major asset managers such as Nordea Investment Management AB, Alpha Asset Management A.E.D.A.K, and Arca Fondi SGR SpA.
Following the CCBA acquisition, Coca-Cola HBC also plans to seek a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), reinforcing its long-term commitment to Africa and providing South African investors with an opportunity to participate in its regional growth strategy.
Rothschild & Co served as the sole financial adviser to Coca-Cola, while Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE Amsterdam Branch, and UBS AG London Branch advised Coca-Cola HBC, and Nomura International acted as the sole financial adviser to GFI.
