MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest Coke bottler in the world, announced Saturday it has acquired Spaipa of Brazil in a $1.855 billion deal.
The all-cash transaction will increase Coca-Cola FEMSA's volume by 40% in Brazil.
Although it has been approved by Coca-Cola FEMSA's board of directors, the deal is still subject to the approval of Brazil's antitrust authority. Coca-Cola FEMSA (IW 1000/404) will also try to obtain the approval of The Coca-Cola Co. (IW 500/27).
From June 2012 to June 2013, Spaipa sold 233.3 million cases of beverages, including beer, for $905 million in net revenue.
"We continue to create a robust platform in Brazil with the acquisition of the second largest privately owned bottler in the system, operating in one of the regions with the highest GDP per capita in the country," Coca-Cola FEMSA CEO Carlos Salazar Lomelin said in a statement.
"We are privileged to serve as many consumers in Brazil as we do in Mexico, and our company will benefit from the talented and experienced employees of the Spaipa franchise."
The deal comes on the heels of Coca-Cola FEMSA's purchase of Brazilian Coke bottler Companhia Fluminense de Refrigerantes for $448 million.
Coca-Cola FEMSA produces and distributes Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Del Valle and other beverages from The Coca-Cola Company in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala ,Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the Philippines and Venezuela.
The company has 63 bottling facilities and serves more than 321 million consumers through 2,700,000 retailers with more than 100,000 employees worldwide.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
