Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has increased its takeover offer for Coca-Cola Amatil to AUD 9.93 billion ($7.7 billion), following improved outlook for its Australian peer.
The largest Coke bottler has raised its initial offering of AUD 9.28 billion ($6.62 billion) for a 69.2% stake of Amatil, citing an improved outlook for Australia and New Zealand since the deal was first announced, according to Reuters.
Under the terms of the new agreement, CCEP has upped its AUD 12.75 ($9.09) offer per share to AUD 13.50 ($10.48), representing a 5.9% increase of the initial offer price.
The change comes after reports revealed that major shareholders branded the initial offer as too low and below its market valuation.
“The economic outlook for Australia and New Zealand has improved since the announcement of the original CCEP proposal, and recent trading validates our strategy and demonstrates our strong recovery,” said Amatil chairwoman, Ilana Atlas, as cited by Reuters.
While the deal will reportedly provide scale, operating efficiencies and a larger geographical spread, Reuters say it also provides CCEP with a platform for further consolidation in Asia.
CCEP said it would buy out 10.8% of Coca-Cola’s stake in Amatil, but has not made any decision on acquiring the rest.
According to Reuters, shares in Coca-Cola Amatil hit an eight-year record of AUD 13.41 ($10.40) in response to the increased offering.
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