Coca-Cola seeks bankers for $1 billion India bottler IPO: report

Coca-Cola has invited investment banks to pitch for roles on the planned initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian bottling business, advancing a listing that could raise about $1 billion, or ₹9,539 crore, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The Atlanta-based beverage firm is seeking a valuation of about $10 billion, or ₹95,393 crore, for the business, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The banker presentations are scheduled to take place in London next week, where Rothschild and Co., Coca-Cola’s adviser on the transaction, will meet prospective banks for the proposed listing of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the report said.

The deliberations are continuing and details such as timing, size, valuation and structure could still change, it added.

The move follows Coca-Cola’s formal announcement on 1 June that it was exploring a potential public listing in India of Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages.

The company said at the time that the listing could take place in 2027 on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange, subject to market conditions, regulatory approvals and other clearances.

Coca-Cola said the proposed transaction would involve the sale of a portion of its shareholding in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings in connection with the listing. It also said it had retained Rothschild & Co. to advise on the process.

The proposed IPO would mark the next step in Coca-Cola’s refranchising strategy in India, one of its fastest-growing markets.

In July 2025, Jubilant Bhartia Group acquired a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings, giving the Indian conglomerate a large position in the bottling platform while Coca-Cola retained control.

Coca-Cola said then that the potential listing would complete the refranchizing of the Indian bottler and position it to benefit from growth opportunities in the market.

“This announcement is another important step for HCCB,” Sanket Ray, president of Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia and emerging large markets lead, said in the June release. “The Coca-Cola Company will stay invested in this important bottler and focus on growing our portfolio of global and local brands in India.”

Shyam and Hari Bhartia of Jubilant Bhartia Group said the proposed listing would help create value for shareholders while allowing the group to continue working with Coca-Cola as an important shareholder.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages was established in 1997 and is one of Coca-Cola’s largest bottlers in India. As of 31 March, the company had about 5,000 employees, more than 2,000 distributors and access to more than 1.7 million customers, according to Coca-Cola.

The bottler operates 14 plants across 10 states and works with eight co-packers. It prepares, packages, distributes and sells Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta, Limca, Maaza, Minute Maid and other sparkling and still beverages.

The planned listing would add to a growing pipeline of multinational companies looking to unlock value from Indian subsidiaries through local public markets.

India has become an attractive listing venue for global consumer companies because of deep domestic liquidity, strong retail participation and higher valuation multiples than many parent companies command in overseas markets.

Hyundai Motor raised about $3.3 billion, or ₹31,480 crore, in India’s largest IPO in 2024. LG Electronics listed its Indian unit last year, while other multinational companies have explored or advanced India listings.

The trend has also drawn scrutiny because many such IPOs are structured as offers for sale, allowing existing shareholders to monetize stakes rather than raising fresh capital for the Indian business.

Reuters reported last month that five of six foreign-owned Indian unit listings since 2024 were structured largely as secondary offerings.

For Coca-Cola, the proposed IPO would come as India’s packaged beverage market becomes more competitive. The company continues to compete with PepsiCo and local brands, while Reliance Consumer Products has revived Campa Cola and expanded aggressively across price points.

Coca-Cola has said India remains an important growth market for its global and local beverage portfolio. The proposed listing would give investors direct exposure to one of the country’s largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing and distribution platforms, while giving Coca-Cola and its Indian partner a route to monetize part of their holdings.