Coca-Cola to complete acquisition of Chi Limited by Q1 2019

Peter Njonjo, president of Coca-Cola West Africa, says the company is looking to complete the acquisition of Chi Limited by the end of 2019 first quarter.

Coca-Cola had acquired a 40% stake in the company in January 2016 and had, at the time, expressed interest in increasing the ownership within three years.

“We are still on track to complete the acquisition (of Chi Ltd) by the end of the first quarter of 2019,” Njonjo told Reuters on Wednesday.

He said the company is looking at accessing the lower end of the market hence the introduction of the 30 centilitre bottle of Coke Zero to be sold for N60 compared with the standard 50CL bottle for N80.

Njonjo said the company’s drive to diversify its product range could also give it more flexibility

“We realise that in certain pack formats you can only go down so low. But once you start looking at pouches and still products, like juice and drinking yoghurts, that allows you to start accessing much lower price points,” he continued.

“Affordability will start becoming a bigger issue in this market than it was in the past. As a company, that is what we need to factor in as we are thinking about the future of our business in Nigeria.”

Sources have also said that the company is bidding for GlaxoSmithKline’s Horlicks nutrition business.