The FINANCIAL — Iberia Refreshments – PepsiCo’s Bottler in Georgia – plans to become PepsiCo’s official representative in the Caucasus. The company already has this status in Armenia and is trying the ground in Azerbaijan, Levan Kasradze, Marketing Manager of Iberia Refreshments, PepsiCo Bottler in Georgia, informed The FINANCIAL.
Recently Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaffar acquired a 30% stake in Georgian Pepsi. Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaffar, an investor of the United Arabs Emirates, will acquire a 30% stake in JSC Iberia Refreshments – PepsiCo Bottlers Georgia.
Mr Al Shafar is becoming one of the largest shareholders of the company alongside the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Iberia Group, a Georgian holding company.
“The reason for selling 30% of our stakes is that by means of the new investments the company will be able to add new categories to its product range and acquire related new technologies, which is a part of our work strategy,” said Kasradze.
According to him, the new finances of around USD 20 million were almost equally divided into the company’s 30% capital and for investing in new projects. Around USD 10 million will be spent in constructing a plant in Armenia, which will be completed by March 2010.
“Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaffar is one of the richest men in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and he’s running various types of businesses there and currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Dubai Refreshments Company – PepsiCo bottler for the UAE,” said Kasradze.
Since its establishment in 1960, Al Shafar Group of companies, Dubai has maintained its position as a major Business Group in the UAE. Al Shafar Group, in association with the ruling family, took a prominent part in developing Dubai as an exotic cosmopolitan city. The active leadership of Al Shafar Group has been instrumental in building up Dubai as a thriving business hub in the region. At present there are 20 companies working under the business umbrella of Al Shafar Group with over 3,000 employees whose dedicated services spread across various fields such as Transport, Construction, Real Estate, General trading, Insurance, Aviation, Electro-Mechanic – and play an excellent role in shaping Dubai as a world leader in business.
The owners of Al Shafar Group of Companies are Mr.Ahmad Abdulla Shafar and Mr. Ali Abdulla Shafar.
Kasradze said they’ve been looking at the sales opportunity for about a year, but didn’t name the other investors who were willing to acquire interest in the company.
Iberia Refreshments income was increased by 38% this year compared to 2007 and the company is expecting another 40% rise in 2009, which might further grow since the launch of new categories.
There was much talk about the sale of Pepsi’s global rival Georgian Coke a couple of months ago, though company officials kept denying the accuracy of the information.
As a reliable source told then The FINANCIAL, Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia was holding negotiations with Efes Beverage Group, which includes Efes Pilsen, the leader in the Turkish brewing and malt industry, about selling its stakes to the latter.
“Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia welcomes the entrance of the serious global company Efes Brewery in Georgia. We look forward to a raise in the healthy competition level in the country with big anticipation. As for the acquisition of Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia by Efes Brewery, I can’t confirm the information. Efes is our bottler in Turkey and we do have good business relations with the company,” Goga Robakidze, Coca-Cola’s Marketing Director, told The FINANCIAL in April.
Since April 1, 2008, Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia introduced a new brand – Canada Dry to the local market.
“We see a very promising potential for Canada-Dry sales in Georgia. Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia has built a very successful operational capacity with very efficient route-to-market activations. We are confident that our bottling partner will achieve very successful sales performance in the soft drink segment with the Canada Dry brand,” Kadri Ozen, the Public Affairs Director of Coca-Cola Eurasia, told The FINANCIAL.
“Coca-Cola Bottlers Georgia (CCBG) is the only licensed bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company to produce and distribute Coca-Cola trademarked beverages in Georgia. We have not granted production or distribution rights of Coca-Cola trademarked beverages to any other bottling company other than CCBG,” said Ozen.
In December of 2005, PepsiCo surpassed Coca-Cola Company in market value for the first time in 112 years since both companies first began to compete.
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi try to make the two soft-drinks a standard part of everyday lifestyle. Coca-Cola uses phrases such as “The Coke side of life” while Pepsi uses phrases such as “Hot stuff” in their website to promote the idea that Pepsi is ‘in sync’ with the cool side of life.
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and The Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG) on August 28 announced that they have completed a joint acquisition of a 75.53% stake in Russia’s leading branded juice company JSC Lebedyansky.
Lebedyansky is the world’s sixth-largest juice manufacturer and the largest in Russia, with an estimated market share in Russia of around 30% and annual revenues in 2007 of approximately USD 800 million from its juice business.
“The combination of our strong brand portfolio, superior go-to-market capabilities, and talented workforce has enabled PBG to build a strong and growing business in Russia,” said PBG President and CEO Eric Foss. “Lebedyansky has a reputation for excellence in each of these three areas as well, making them a terrific addition to the Pepsi family. Working together, PBG, PepsiCo and Lebedyansky will expand the Russian juice category in ways that benefit both customers and consumers.”
Written By Kate Tabatadze
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