Embotelladora Polar buys into Ecuadorean Coke market

Yesterday, Embotelladora Polar of Chile announced an agreement via which it will buy 34.5% of Ecuador Bottling Company Corp (EBC), a holding company boasting 100% of manufacturing, bottling, distribution and sales rights on products of The Coca Cola Company in Ecuador. The firm controlled by the family Chadwick, boasting 12.4% of total Coca-Cola sales in Chile, will pay out US$64.3mil for the stake of just over a third. The deal should be done once the Ebitda for 2007 for EBC is known (by mid-March).

Ecuador will become Polar's fourth national market, the Chilean group already boasting filials in Argentina and Paraguay with 9.8% and 100% shares of said markets respectively (according to a report from January 2008 by Fitch Ratings). Polar's Chilean rivals are Embotelladora Andina, with its 53% share of the local Coke market and with operations in Brazil and Argentina, and Embonor, with over 35% of the Chilean Coke market and a 98% share of the Bolivian Coke market.

Publication: SABI - Business News
Provider: South American Business Information
Date: March 12, 2008