Unilever Sells Latin American Soy Beverage Business to Coke and Bottling Partner

02 June 2016 --- Unilever is selling its Latin American soy beverage business to Coca-Cola and its largest bottler in a deal valued at $575m after the consumer goods giant admitted that it failed to drive maximum performance from the business.

Soy beverage business AdeS generated revenues of $284m last year and is the second biggest maker of soy-based beverages in the world with a presence in key Latin American markets such as Brazil and Argentina.

Coca-Cola is making the purchase of Soy beverage with its Mexico-based bottling partner Coca-Cola FEMSA.

In a statement, Unilever said that the new owners of AdeS, which was founded in Argentina in 1988, would help realise "its potential".

“This sale is a step in reshaping our portfolio in Latin America to deliver sustainable growth for Unilever and enables us to sharpen our focus. AdeS is an iconic brand and we believe that its potential can be fully realized within the Coca-Cola system”, said Miguel Kozuszok, EVP Latin America Unilever.”

“The acquisition of AdeS marks another milestone for the Coca-Cola system in providing increased choice of nutritious and delicious products to our consumers. AdeS is a leading brand in its category and we are very excited to add it to our stills portfolio.”

“This continues the successful joint venture partnerships with our Latin American bottling partners and brings more innovative offerings to our markets,” said Brian Smith, President, Latin America Group of Coca-Cola.”

“AdeS complements and reinforces our non-carbonated beverage portfolio offer, providing our consumers with a wider range of choices. Together with our partner, The Coca-Cola Company, we will leverage the leading position of the AdeS brand, integrating it into our robust route-to-market model to drive value and further innovation on this new beverage platform,” said John Santa Maria, CEO of Coca-Cola FEMSA.”

The acquisition comes as Coca-Cola looks to lift its performance overseas and help revive slowing overall growth. It marks the latest in a number of overseas purchases.

Last year, it purchased multigrain specialist China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings and earlier this year it snapped up a 40 percent stake in Nigeria's largest juice maker TGI Group's Chi.

Unilever, meanwhile, has looked to sell of underperforming food businesses such as Ragu and Slim-Fast.