The Coca‑Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investments (GFI) have agreed to sell a 75% controlling interest in Coca‑Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) to Coca‑Cola HBC AG. The deal values CCBA at an equity value of $3.4 billion and is expected to close by the end of 2026, pending regulatory and antitrust approvals.
CCBA operates in 14 African countries and represents about 40% of all Coca‑Cola product volume sold on the continent. Coca‑Cola HBC, already one of the largest bottlers for The Coca‑Cola Company, currently operates in 29 countries across Europe and Africa, including Nigeria and Egypt.
As part of the agreement, The Coca‑Cola Company will sell 41.52% out of its 66.52% stake in CCBA to Coca‑Cola HBC. GFI will sell its entire 33.48% holding to Coca‑Cola HBC as well. Additionally, a separate option agreement gives Coca‑Cola HBC the right to acquire the remaining 25% stake owned by The Coca‑Cola Company within six years after closing.
This transaction marks another phase in The Coca‑Cola Company’s refranchising strategy, which has reduced its bottling investments from over half of consolidated net revenue in 2015 to an expected 5% after this deal closes. In July 2025, the company also sold a minority stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., its Indian bottler, as part of similar efforts.
“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, having strong market share growth in Egypt and realizing strong volume and share growth in Nigeria over the past several years. We are pleased with Coca‑Cola HBC’s continued and aligned investment in the Coca‑Cola system and in taking another significant step forward in the refranchising of company-owned bottling operations.”
After completion, GFI will remain involved through its ownership stake in Coca-Cola HBC. “For more than eight decades, the Gutsche family has been dedicated to developing the Coca-Cola business across Southern and Eastern Africa,” said GFI Chairman Philipp Hugo Gutsche. “Coca-Cola HBC is the ideal partner to carry the CCBA business forward and to realize their shared vision for the Coca-Cola system on the continent.”
Following this acquisition, Coca-Cola HBC will handle two-thirds of Africa’s total Coke system volume and serve more than half of Africa’s population with products from its portfolio.
“We are very excited to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in CCBA, with a path to full ownership,” said Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC.
“With almost 75 years of experience in Nigeria and with our successful acquisition of Coca-Cola’s bottling business in Egypt in 2022, we see huge growth opportunities in Africa. It has a sizable and growing consumer base and significant potential to increase per capita consumption,” Bogdanovic said. “We believe we can unlock this growth and create value for our shareholders by leveraging our best-in-class bespoke capabilities, commercial expertise and industry-leading approach to sustainability. We appreciate the trust placed in us by Coca-Cola and GFI and look forward to welcoming the CCBA team to Coca-Cola HBC and driving joint success.”
Coca-Cola HBC plans a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as part of this process.
Rothschild & Co acted as sole financial adviser to The Coca-Cola Company; Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE (Amsterdam Branch) and UBS AG London Branch advised Coke HBC; Nomura International was sole adviser for GFI.
