Swire Pacific acquires Coca-Cola bottling business in Vietnam, Cambodia

By Anh Tu July 19, 2022 | 02:16 am PT

Coca-Cola products on display at a store. Photo by Reuters/Mike Blake

Hong Kong-based conglomerate Swire Pacific is offering $1 billion for Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in Vietnam and Cambodia, a move to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

Swire Pacific will pay Coca-Cola Indochina, which produces and sells Coca-Cola products in both countries, $1.015 billion in cash, South China Morning Post cited its filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Monday.

The transactions "will expand the group’s beverages business into one of the most rapidly growing beverages markets," the company said.

It is expected to be completed within the next six months, subject to antitrust approval, Bloomberg cited the filing.

Swire, a Hong Kong- and London-based British conglomerate, was founded over 200 years ago in 1816. It has been redirecting investment into key operations of beverages and property, as well as emerging sectors like healthcare.

It is also the principal shareholder at Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, one of Asia’s best-known airlines.

Back in 2016, the group bought a Coca-Cola’s bottling facility in southern China. Its beverage arm operates one of the largest Coca-Cola plants in the world.

In Vietnam, Coca-Cola has three factories, currently under the control of Coke’s Bottling Investment Group.