Coca-Cola plans IPO of African bottling business next year, Bloomberg says

Coca-Cola is planning for a potential initial public offering of its African bottling business as soon as next year after previously putting the plans on hold, Vinicy Chan and Loni Prinsloo of Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Coke is considering a dual listing for Coca-Cola Beverages Africa in Johannesburg and Amsterdam, and may seek a valuation of more than $8B for the business, sources told Bloomberg. Coca-Cola owns 66.5% of the bottling unit while the remaining 33.5% is owned by Gutsche Family Investments. Deliberations are at an early stage and details of the offering could change, Bloomberg added. Shares of Coca-Cola are up 20c to $61.93 following the report.