Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Agency for State Assets Management of the Republic of Uzbekistan (AUGA) has published an announcement on the sale of a 57.118% stake in the authorized capital of Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan, Ltd (CCBU).

Rothschild & Cie is acting as the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction.

The sale is organized as a competitive bidding process open to all interested parties who meet the criteria:

- experience of at least 7 years in the production and sale of soft drinks and professional skills in the following areas:

- production, sale and distribution of soft drinks within the framework of a business with an annual net revenue of at least US$200 million;

- proven international experience in soft drink brands management, marketing and sales, supply chains and procurement integration;

- compliance with applicable food and beverage laws;

-significant professional experience for the control and operational management of large, complex and specialized business in Uzbekistan and sufficient opportunities to achieve significant results in the development of the market of soft drinks in Uzbekistan;

- sufficient financial resources to acquire a controlling stake in the authorized capital of CCBU for cash;

-the ability and willingness to invest in CCBU to achieve long-term growth of business and economy of Uzbekistan;

-suitable business partner for The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC), including consistency of views on the long-term development strategy, business plan and business goals in Uzbekistan (growth, investment, corporate values and social responsibility), the ability to work in partnership with TCCEC to achieve the specified goals of the business plan and not participate in the sale of competitors’ drinks, which is necessary to protect CCBU from product cannibalization, misappropriation of its intellectual property, confidential information, marketing and commercial secrets and undermining investments aimed at the development and growth of CCBU;

- compliance with the terms and conditions and compliance with the provisions of the statutory documentation of the CCBU and the agreement with TCCEC and The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) on the bottling of products, including compliance with the management principles enshrined in the bottling agreement;

-Compliance with US federal law, including, but not limited to, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, sanctions laws, and the absence of criminal proceedings and investigations against the CCBU, management, shareholders, and board members.

Interested parties are encouraged to submit an application in the form of a letter sent to the e-mails Chimgan@davaktiv.uz and Project_Chimgan@Rothschildandco.com no later than December 31, 2020.

On the basis of the submitted Applications and no later than January 14, 2021, the state tender commission will select the participants in the first round of the process, who will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

After signing the Non-Disclosure Agreement, participants in the first round will receive further instructions on the process and information materials about the CCBU (including financial statements, confidential information memorandum, business plan, and reports on financial, tax and due diligence).

After reviewing the CCBU information, Round 1 participants will be asked to submit a non-binding indicative proposal.

CCBU is the largest producer of carbonated soft drinks in Uzbekistan with a market share of approx. 47% in 2019 (which is approx. 70% more than the nearest competitor). The company is authorized by its second largest member (with a 42.882% share), The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) and the trademark owner, TCCC, to bottling, packaging, distributing and selling Coca-Cola branded products in Uzbekistan in accordance with bottling agreement between CCBU, TCCEC and TCCC.

CCBU’s production facilities are represented by three enterprises - in Tashkent, Namangan and Urgench. The company also has a modern warehouse network. In addition, it is planned to build a new enterprise in Samarkand. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, the company generated revenue of 1.45 trillion soums.