AEV, partner cleared to buy Coca-Cola PH

ABOITIZ Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) and coca-cola europacific partners plc. (CCEP) want to close their buyout of Cocacola Beverage Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) by the end of this month following clearance from the antitrust authorities.

AEV received a certificate of approval issued by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on January 30, the company told the exchange on Wednesday.

It added that both firms were now completing the remaining conditions precedent to the closing of the deal.

Last November, the companies signed an agreement to jointly acquire CCBPI — valued at $1.8 billion on a debt- and cash-free basis — from The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC).

CCEP will be taking a 60-percent stake and AEV the remaining 40 percent.

CCEP Aboitiz Beverages Philippines Inc., the holding company established by AEV and CCEP, will acquire CCBPI’s 2.4 billion shares of class A common stock with a par value of P2 and 1,000 shares of class B common stock with a par value of P1.

AEV said the transaction would be settled through a “lump sum cash payment at closing with a true-up adjustment post-closing.”

The Aboitiz-led firm said the acquisition of CCPBI — the exclusive bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products in the Philippines — was expected to boost its portfolio diversification strategy to “enter the branded consumer goods market.”

In August of last year, AEV and CCEP entered into a non-binding letter of intent with TCCC to take over CCBPI, the country’s leading beverage supplier with a supply chain footprint consisting of more than 70 production lines and 19 plants.

“AEV is well positioned to support CCBPI’s growth ambition due to the synergies that could be generated from AEV’s other business interests in the country,” the Aboitiz-led firm said last November.

The deal with UK-based CCEP, an affiliate of The Coca-Cola Co., will build on a recent expansion into Australia, the Pacific and Indonesia, AEV added.

Following news of the antitrust regulator’s clearance, AEV shares rose by 55 centavos, or 1.15 percent, to P48.50 apiece on Wednesday amid a 0.37-percent uptick in the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.