Swire Pacific in talks to buy Coca-Cola bottling assets in China: Bloomberg

Reuters
The logo of U.S. beverage group Coca-Cola is seen at the entrance of a visitors center of Coca-Cola Schweiz GmbH in Bruettisellen, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

(Reuters) - Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific Ltd <0019.HK> is in talks to buy Coca-Cola Co's bottling assets in China from Cofco Corp's [CNCOF.UL] China Foods Ltd <0506.HK> unit, Bloomberg reported. A potential deal could value the business at about $1 billion and the companies could announce a deal as soon as this week, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. http://bloom.bg/2fz2VPL China Foods said in August it was considering a potential disposal of its stakes in companies engaging in Coca-Cola bottling operations by the way of a public sale. Swire Beverages is one of the largest soft drink bottlers for Coca-Cola Co in the world, and works closely with the U.S. firm on brand development and marketing. Swire Pacific, China Foods and Coca-Cola China were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Gaurika Juneja in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)