This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
On October 29, 2019, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) certified the acquisition of Almasi Beverages Ltd by Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa (CCBA), setting conditions to protect the workforce and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
CAK ordered CCBA to retain 99 percent of the 1,760 permanent employees of Almasi, a total of 1,749 employees, for a period of three years following the completion of the transaction.
“The merged entity shall for a three (3) year period following completion of the proposed transaction retain 1,749 employees of the total 1,760 permanent employees,” CAK declared.
Additionally, CCBA was instructed to reserve at least 20 percent of the total storage space of the coolers lent to SMEs for products of competitors, except for the brands of Coca-Cola's three largest global non-alcoholic ready-to-drink competitors.
“The merged entity shall reserve the lower deck, or not less than 20 percent of the total storage space of the coolers lent to SMEs for products of competitors except the brands of the Coca-Cola Company’s three (3) largest global non-alcoholic ready-to-drink competitors,” CAK added.
As part of the acquisition deal, Centum will sell its entire 53.9 percent stake in Almasi and 27.6 percent of issued shares in Nairobi Bottlers Limited (NBL) for Sh19.5 billion.
CCBA will operate the current Almasi bottling plants in Nyeri, Eldoret, Nairobi, Molo, and Kisumu for at least three years after the acquisition.
