Swire coke in US$1b thrust into SE Asia
Finance | Staff reporter 19 Jul 2022
Swire Pacific (0019, 0087) said yesterday it has agreed to acquire Coca-Cola subsidiaries with bottling businesses in Vietnam and Cambodia for US$1.02 billion (HK$7.92 billion).
The transactions will be the first investment for Swire Coca-Cola, a unit of Swire Pacific, in Southeast Asia, giving it a leading position in one of the world's fastest-growing beverage markets, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong exchange yesterday.
In a separate statement, it said Swire Coca-Cola will own and operate Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam, which has three bottling facilities in Vietnam, and Cambodia Beverage Company, which has one bottling center in Cambodia.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Swire Coca-Cola's franchise population will expand by 15 percent to 876 million people, it added.
Completion of the transaction is subject to conditions, including without-limitation applicable anti-trust approval, and is expected to take place within six months, it said in the filing.
Payment will be funded by Swire's internal resources and existing banking facilities, it added.
In April, Swire said it had completed the sale of US$190 million of its marine services business.
It disclosed earlier this year that the firm Swire Pacific Offshore would be sold to US-listed Tidewater, partly in cash and partly in the form of warrants that will entitle Swire to purchase 8.1 million shares of common stock of Tidewater at a nominal price.
