Jubilant Beverages get CCI nod to acquire 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings

New Delhi: Fair trade regulator CCI on Thursday cleared Jubilant Beverages' proposal to acquire a 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd (HCCH).

"The proposed combination relates to inter alia, JBL (Jubilant Beverages Ltd) proposed acquisition of 40 per cent of the shareholding of HCCH from Hindustan Coca-Cola Overseas Holdings Pte Ltd, and Bharat CocaCola Overseas Holdings Pte Ltd," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a release.

HCCH is a holding company with no independent activities in India and belongs to the Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Company group. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) is a subsidiary of the HCCH.

HCCB is engaged in the preparation, packaging, supply and distribution of a variety of Coca-Cola beverages in India. It is also engaged in the preparation and distribution of beverages under the 'Monster' brand owned by Monster Inc.

The competition watchdog has also granted its clearance to BevCo's and the Investors' proposed subscription to compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) in JBL.

"CCI approves the proposed combination involving the acquisition of 40 per cent shareholding of HCCH by Jubilant Beverages Ltd and proposed subscription to CCPS in JBL by Jubilant BevCo Ltd and the Investors," the regulator said.

Jubilant Beverages and Jubilant BevCo (BevCo) are newly incorporated entities and belong to the Jubilant Bhartia Group.

WSSS Investments Aggregator 1 and WSSS Investments Aggregator 2 are collectively referred to as 'Investors' and are owned by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Last week, competition watchdog CCI approved Kandhari Global Beverages' proposal to acquire beverage major Coca-Cola's bottling plant for Rs 2,000 crore.

In December last year, Coca-Cola announced the sale of a 40 per cent stake in its India bottling business Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCBL) to Jubilant Bhartia Group.

The company has not disclosed the financial details of the deal.

However, some media reports have pegged it at around Rs 10,000 crore for the 40 per cent stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings.

This deal is part of The Coca-Cola Company's strategy to divest its stake in bottling operations globally as per its asset-light strategy. HCCBL operates 13 factories and manufactures and sells 37 different products.

In a separate release, CCI on Thursday approved the proposed combination involving the acquisition of HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd (HCG) by KKR through Hector Asia Holdings and the KIA EBT II Scheme.

Bengaluru-headquartered HCG is one of the largest providers of cancer care in India.

"CCI approves proposed combination involving acquisition in HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited by KKR through Hector Asia Holdings and KIA EBT II Scheme," the regulator said in a post on X.

Hector Asia Holdings II Pte (Hector) is owned by investment funds of KKR and Co Inc and KIA EBT II Scheme 1 is an employee benefit scheme of KIA EBT Trust II (EBT). EBT's beneficiaries are employees of KKR.

Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold mandatorily require approval from CCI, which keeps a tab on anti-competitive practices and promotes fair competition in the marketplace.

In February, global investment firm KKR announced that it had acquired a controlling stake in HCG for USD 400 million.