How Jubilant Bhartia Group Plans to Fund Rs 12,500 Cr Buyout of Coca-Cola Bottler

More details have emerged about the Rs 12,500 crore deal between India's Jubilant Bhartia Group and Coca-Cola’s India unit. The transaction will see the Bhartia Group acquire a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), the Indian bottling arm of the Coca-Cola Company.

According to a report by Moneycontrol, the promoters of Jubilant Bhartia Group, the Bhartia family, plan to sell a small stake in three of their listed companies to raise over Rs 2,000 crore. These companies include Jubilant FoodWorks, Jubilant Ingrevia, and Jubilant Pharmova.

As per the report, the family, led by Shyam Bhartia, is likely to offload a 6% stake in Jubilant Ingrevia, 3% in Jubilant Pharmova, and 2% in Jubilant FoodWorks. Jubilant FoodWorks, the master franchisee of Domino’s in India and neighbouring countries, also operates Dunkin’, Popeyes, Ekdum!, and Hong’s Kitchen, and has a market capitalisation of Rs 44,457 crore. Jubilant Pharmova, which focuses on pharmaceuticals and contract research, is valued at Rs 18,207 crore. Jubilant Ingrevia, the group’s life sciences and specialty chemicals arm, has a market cap of Rs 10,983 crore.

In December, the Jubilant Bhartia Group announced the acquisition of a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings (HCCH) for Rs 12,500 crore via its subsidiary, Jubilant Beverages Ltd.

Subsequently, it was reported that the group plans to raise about Rs 6,000 crore in debt from domestic investors, including mutual funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. By 5 June, it had secured Rs 5,650 crore through non-convertible debentures, with major investors such as HDFC Asset Management participating. Bloomberg later reported that Goldman Sachs Asset Management had provided approximately Rs 5,000 crore to support the equity portion of the investment.

HCCH is the parent company of HCCB, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in India.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), which manages Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in India, runs 14 plants and accounts for 43% of the company’s bottling volumes, offering carbonated and non-carbonated drinks as well as packaged water.

Coca-Cola has been divesting stakes in its bottling assets in India as part of its “asset-light” strategy, which focuses on branding and marketing rather than operations and distribution.

In March, it was reported that Coca-Cola sold one of its soft drink bottling units in North Gujarat to its local franchisee, Kandhari Global Beverages Group, for Rs 2,000 crore.