China’s state-back investment company, Citic, has agreed to sell its minority stake in its joint beverage ventures in the country, as it seeks to further rationalise its investment portfolio.
Swire Pacific will pay CNY 1.25bn ($201.4m) to acquire the remaining 15% stake in Swire BCD, which has a majority interest in Swire’s Coca-Cola bottling operation including five plants in mainland China. It will also acquire the remaining 20% share in Coca-Cola Beverages Hefei and a majority of the remaining stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Zhenzhou.
Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will allow Citic to concentrate its efforts on other areas of the market.
The company said in a statement: “Citic and Swire Pacific have a long and positive relationship, cooperating in many business areas over the years. The sale is aligned with Citic’s strategy to consolidate resources to develop and reinforce its leadership in its core business sectors.”
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