Coca-Cola Beverages Africa eyes dual listing in Johannesburg and Amsterdam exchanges

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the eighth largest Coca-Cola bottling partner, is preparing to expand its horizons to Johannesburg and Amsterdam stock exchange as it gears for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in 2024, Bloomberg said.

According to the statement, the beverage giant is considering a dual listing on two stock exchanges for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa in both Johannesburg and Amsterdam, after postponing such plans in 2022.

“The business could be valued at over $8 billion. It holds a 66.5 percent stake in the bottling entity, with Gutsche Family Investments, possessing the remaining 33.5 percent but might change as deliberations progress,” it added.

However, the initial announcement of plans to relinquish a share of its ownership in the unit via an initial public offer (IPO) came in 2021 but subsequent developments saw the scheme postponed in the following year.

“Coca-Cola Beverages Africa stands as the eighth largest Coca-Cola bottling affiliate globally by revenue and, the largest on the African continent, accounting for approximately 40 percent of all Coca-Cola sales volumes in Africa,” the statement affirmed.

According to the company’s third-quarter earnings report for 2023, its commitment to making Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) public is dependent on favorable market conditions.

“In 2021, Coca-Cola announced its intentions to initiate the listing process for CCBA within an 18-month timeframe, proposing a primary listing in Amsterdam alongside a secondary listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange,” the statement said.

However, in 2022, Coca-Cola postponed its plans for an estimated $3 billion IPO of CCBA, citing market volatility primarily stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“The geopolitical tensions caused a decline in investor confidence, leading to a global slowdown in IPO activity. if CCBA’s listing had occurred as planned, it would have been the JSE’s largest IPO since at least 2016, potentially offering a substantial boost to the index’s performance,” the statement said.