Coca-Cola to sell North Gujarat bottling plant to Kandhari for Rs 2,000 cr

Beverage major Coca-Cola is selling its bottling plant in the North Gujarat region to Kandhari Global Beverages.

Though the company has not shared financial details, industry insiders have pegged the deal to be around Rs 2,000 crore, where Coca-Cola will transfer business from HCCBL, its bottling arm in India, to its bottling partner Kandhari Global Beverages.

The Atlanta-headquartered beverage major is divesting assets globally by franchising regional operations to local partners as part of its asset-light business model.

"We have reached an agreement to transfer the North Gujarat bottling operations currently being operated by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCBL). Subject to regulatory approvals, the North Gujarat business will be owned and operated by Kandhari Global Beverages Private Ltd," said an HCCBL spokesperson.

This transfer will ensure that the right level of investments can be undertaken in all parts of the business while bringing scale and contiguity to the business, he added.

After this sale, HCCBL will be left with 15 operational plants in India, where it produces beverages like Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Minute Maid, Maaza, SmartWater, Kinley, Limca, and Fanta, among others.

In the December quarter, Coca-Cola divested a 40 per cent stake in HCCBL to the Bhartia family. Though the company has not disclosed the amount, some media reports have pegged it to be around Rs 10,000 crore.

Earlier, in the March quarter of last year, it had franchised its bottling operations to its existing bottlers in three key markets - Rajasthan, Bihar, Northeast, and parts of West Bengal to its existing bottlers, earning USD 290 million (around Rs 2,420 crore).

Kandhari Global Beverages was one of the three existing bottlers to whom HCCB had transferred bottling operations of the Rajasthan market. It already operates in parts of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The two other existing partners were SLMG Beverages and Moon Beverages.

India is the fifth largest market of the Atlanta-based cola company.

HCCBL's revenue in FY24 was Rs 14,021.54 crore and recorded a net profit of Rs 2,808.31 crore, helped by the sale of bottling operations.