GRATA International has advised Coca-Cola Içecek Anonim Şirketi (CCI), the Coca-Cola bottler for Turkey, Central Asia, Pakistan and the Middle East, in its successful bid for acquisition of 57.118% state shares in Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan, Ltd (CCBU).

The tender process for the privatization of CCBU started last year following the Presidential Decree dated October 27, 2020. CCI reached an agreement with the State Assets Management Agency of Uzbekistan following its successful bid (in the amount of 252,28 million US dollars) in the highly competitive multi-stage privatization process. The transaction has been approved by the State Tender Commission for the Sale of State Property and is expected to be finalized within two months, subject to a number of regulatory approvals.

GRATA International acted as an Uzbek counsel for CCI in the acquisition, providing full support in all legal aspects of the transaction.

The sale of state assets in CCBU has become an important milestone in the large-scale privatization plans recently announced by the Government of Uzbekistan.

CCI is one of the six largest entities in the Coca Cola structure, operating in more than 26 bottling plants across several countries. The company is listed in the Istanbul Stock exchange and has a market capitalization of 2,54 billion US dollars.

CCBU is the largest beverage company in Uzbekistan, having production facilities in Tashkent, Namangan and Urgench. The company had a net profit of 205 billion Uzbek soums by the end of 2020.