The Central Bottling Company (Coca Cola Israel), controlled by David Wertheim, has submitted a bid to acquire control of a public company in South Africa together with partners in a deal that values the company at $359 million (NIS 1.3 billion). This constitutes a 25% premium on the company's market cap before the deal was announced. The South African company, Clover Industries, which produces milk and juices, has 8,000 employees and owns 13 production facilities throughout South Africa.
Central Bottling Company's share of the acquisition group is 60%, meaning that the it will own 60% of the South African company's shares, which have a current value of $215 million (NIS 780 million). A number of funds are also involved in the deal, together with parties in Clover's management, who also hold shares in the company. The value of the company in the offer to purchase is 25% higher than the $300 million value at which the South African company was traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange until the morning before the deal. Completion of the deal is not certain at this stage. It was reported that the Central Bottling Company planned to use Clover expand the dairy business of its Tara Dairy subsidiary in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Central Bottling Company is the fourth largest manufacturer of consumer products in Israel. It owns a number leading brands, headed by Coca Cola Israel, Tara Dairy, and other beer and soft drink brands. The deal will be conducted through the company's overseas arm, which has operated in a number of companies since the 1990s, including Romania, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
The Central Bottling Company confirmed the report. Eran Elsner, who manages the Central Bottling Company's overseas business, said, "The Central Bottling Company group believes that its activity is synergetic with the activity of the company in South Africa. There is a reciprocal contribution of knowledge and experience between the Central Bottling Company group and the overseas companies, which is channeled towards innovation and business development, while providing added value to consumers, who are always foremost in our considerations."
Adv. Nili Peleg-Shpolansky from the Ron Gazit Rotenberg & Co. law firm represents the Central Bottling Company in the deal.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 4, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019