Dabur, Jubilant vie for stake in Coca Cola bottler: report

The Burman and Bhartia families, promoters of Dabur and Jubilant Group, respectively, are separately bidding for a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), the bottling arm of the drinks giant for ₹10,800 -12,000 crore ($1.3-1.4 billion) The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the developments.

The deal will value The Coca-Cola Co.’s wholly owned subsidiary at ₹27,000-30,000 core ($3.21-3.62 billion), the report said, adding that the firms submitted their bids over the weekend.

Jubilant did not respond to emailed query and Dabur India refused to comment on this development.

The parent company, Coca-Cola, will take a final call on whether to involve one or two investors or to go ahead with the investor consortium, the decision regarding the same is likely by the end of the year, the report said.

ET first reported in June that Coca-Cola, buoyed by a bullish domestic market, had reached out to Indian business houses with an offer to buy into its Indian bottling arm, HCCB.

Among those who were tapped included the Parekhs of Pidilite Industries, and the promoters of Asian Paints, along with the Burmans and Bhartias.

The families, through their listed companies, have the readiness to become co-investors while leveraging their existing fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and food portfolios, the report said.

Jubilant Foodworks holds the exclusive franchise for Domino’s Pizza, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Popeyes in India, and operates Domino’s in five other Asian markets. It also owns Coffy, a major coffee retailer in Turkey.

Dabur boasts a substantial portfolio in food, beverages, and health products.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo has delegated its bottling operations to Varun Beverages, owned by Ravi Jaipuria.

Continuing to use HCCB for part of its local bottling, Coca-Cola is aiming to adopt a lighter asset model similar to Varun Beverages, whose assets have tripled in value within two years.