OCTOBER 25, 2020
The AusTralian
COCA-COLA AMATIL COULD ANNOUNCE AS SOON AS MONDAY IT IS THE TARGET OF AN $8 BILLION TAKEOVER BY BRITISH BEVERAGES GIANT COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS, HANDING AUSTRALIA’S BOTTLER OF FAMOUS SOFT DRINK COCA-COLA — AS WELL AS A STABLE OF POPULAR BEVERAGE BRANDS SUCH AS MOUNT FRANKLIN WATER, GOULBURN VALLEY JUICE AND GRINDERS COFFEE — TO A FOREIGN COMPANY.
SHARES IN THE PUBLICLY LISTED CC AMATIL WERE PLACED IN A TRADING HALT ON FRIDAY PENDING WHAT IT SAID WOULD BE A “POTENTIAL MATERIAL TRANSACTION”, AND BLOOMBERG REPORTED OVERNIGHT THAT BRITAIN’S COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS, THE WORLD’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT BOTTLER OF THE STOREYED SOFT DRINK, IS IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE THE SYDNEY-BASED CC AMATIL.
BLOOMBERG REPORTED THAT INSIDERS HAVE STATED THAT NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN AND AUSTRALIAN BOTTLERS ARE ADVANCED AND COULD BE ANNOUNCED WITHIN DAYS. THE NEWSWIRE SERVICE SAID DETAILS, INCLUDING ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE DEAL, ARE STILL BEING FINALISED AND TALKS COULD YET FALL APART.
IT WOULD MARK THE BIGGEST TAKEOVER OF AN AUSTRALIAN COMPANY THIS YEAR AND WOULD TRIGGER A MASSIVE SHAKE UP OF THE NATION’S ALCOHOLIC AND NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SECTOR THAT WOULD TOUCH ALL KEY SEGMENTS OF THE DRINKS INDUSTRY INCLUDING SOFT DRINKS, BEER, SPIRITS, BOTTLED WATER, COFFEE, DAIRY AND JUICE.
CC AMATIL ALSO OWNS THE BOTTLING RIGHTS FOR THE DOMINANT COCA-COLA BRAND IN NEW ZEALAND, PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND ALSO HAS A MAJORITY STAKE IN THE COCA-COLA BOTTLER IN INDONESIA AS WELL AS BEVERAGE ASSETS IN FIJI.
CC AMATIL’S POPULAR SUPERMARKET BRANDS INCLUDE COCA COLA, SPRITE, FANTA, LIFT, CASCADE, KIRKS, IN BOTTLED WATER IT OWNS MOUNT FRANKLIN, PUMP, NEVERFAUIL, DEEP SPRING, AS WELL AS GRINDERS COFFEE, GOULBURN VALLEY JUICE AND KERI JUICE.
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF CC AMATIL IS ALISON WATKINS, A FORMER DIRECTOR OF WOOLWORTHS AND A HUGE RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB SUPPORTER, THE BOTTLER IS CHAIRED BY ANZ BANK DIRECTOR ILANA ATLAS.
THE AUSTRALIAN BOTTLER IS VALUED AT JUST OVER $7.8BN AND ITS BIGGEST SHAREHOLDER IS THE COCA COLA COMPANY, BASED IN ATLANTA, AND ITS VIEW ON THE POTENTIAL TAKEOVER WOULD BE KEY IN DETERMINING ITS SUCCESS.
IT IS LIKELY THE DEAL WOULD NEED APPROVAL FROM THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD.
THE PARENT COCA COLA IN ATLANTA OWNS 30 PER CENT OF CC AMATIL AND ALSO HAS AN 18 PER CENT STAKE IN COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS, AND A COMBINATION OF THE EUROPEAN AND AUSTRALASIAN BOTTLING ASSETS WOULD CREATE A GLOBAL BOTTLER WITH STRONG, DOMINANT MARKET SHARES IN BEVERAGES IN BOTH MARKETS.
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THE UXBRIDGE-BASED COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST COCA-COLA BOTTLER BY REVENUE, WITH 48 BOTTLING SITES ACROSS KEY EUROPEAN NATIONS OF GERMANY, SPAIN AND GREAT BRITAIN. COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS WAS CREATED FROM THE THREE-WAY MERGER OF COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES, COCA-COLA IBERIAN PARTNERS AND GERMANY’S COCA-COLA IN 2015. THE BIGGEST SHAREHOLDER IS COBEGA, AN INVESTMENT VEHICLE BELONGING TO SPAIN’S DAURELLA FAMILY. THE DAURELLA FAMILY HAS A HISTORY OF BOTTLING COCA COLA THAT GOES BACK TO THE 1950S.
THE POTENTIAL $8BN TAKEOVER OF COCA-COLA AMATIL COMES AS THE BOTTLER WAS RUMOURED TO BE INTERESTED IN BUYING A SELECTION OF BEER AND CIDER ASSETS FROM JAPAN’S ASAHI FOLLOWING ITS $16BN TAKEOVER OF CARLTON & UNITED BREWERIES, AND THE LION DAIRY & DRINKS BUSINESS FROM BREWER LION.
A SPOKESMAN FOR CC AMATIL WAS UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
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