The Coca-Cola Company Acquires Full Ownership of Philippines Bottler from San Miguel Corporation
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Coca-Cola Company and San Miguel Corporation jointly announced today that The Coca-Cola Company has acquired San Miguel's 65% shareholding in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI). CCBPI also owns Cosmos Bottling Company and Philippine Beverages Partners, Inc. San Miguel Corporation was previously the majority shareholder of CCBPI and had management control of the bottler.
The Coca-Cola Company now has full ownership of CCBPI. The total consideration of the transaction is US$590 million.
"Our partnership with San Miguel Corporation over the years has been extremely important to our business in the Philippines. We are grateful to San Miguel Corporation for its continuing support of our long-term commitment to the Philippines, and we look forward to continued cooperation with San Miguel, who will remain a key supplier to our business," said Muhtar Kent, president and chief operating officer of The Coca-Cola Company.
"Coca-Cola has been sold in the Philippines since the beginning of the 20th century and has been locally produced since 1927. This is a very important market for us, and we believe our business here has great growth potential. Our business in the Philippines will now be fully integrated with our Company's overall objectives. It will benefit from full access to our Company's management expertise in helping to operate the bottling businesses," Kent concluded.
"The sale of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., supports our company's more focused business model, emphasizing fully owned branded positions," said Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corporation.
"This transaction provides San Miguel Corporation the opportunity to focus on its core business areas in the Philippines and its planned expansion throughout the region," added Cojuangco.
The Company's Bottling Investment Group, the dedicated function to manage bottling operations of The Coca-Cola Company, will lead the management of CCBPI and ensure a smooth transition of the bottling operations.
For its part, San Miguel Corporation is to develop its own domestic beverage business, producing juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas, to complement existing operations in Thailand and Indonesia.
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light beverages, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, energy and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1.4 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report contains statements, estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks include, but are not limited to, obesity concerns; water scarcity and quality; changes in the nonalcoholic beverages business environment; increased competition; an inability to expand in developing and emerging markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and interest rates; the ability to maintain good relationships with our bottling partners; a deterioration in our bottling partners' financial condition; strikes or work stoppages; increased cost of energy; increased cost, disruption of supply or shortage of raw materials; changes in laws and regulations relating to beverage containers and packaging; additional labeling or warning requirements; unfavorable economic and political conditions in international markets; changes in commercial and market practices within the European Economic Area; litigation or legal proceedings; adverse weather conditions; an inability to maintain brand image and quality and other product issues such as product recalls; changes in the legal and regulatory environment in various countries in which we operate; changes in accounting and taxation standards, including an increase in tax rates; an inability to achieve our overall long-term goals; an inability to protect our information systems; future impairment charges; the successful performance of our Company-owned bottlers; global or regional catastrophic events; and other risks discussed in our Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC and on our Web site. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company
Released February 21, 2007