San Miguel, CCA set for share swap

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- San Miguel Corp will unveil the final terms of a share-swap deal with Australian company Coca-Cola Amatil this week, according to media reports.

The deal will allow San Miguel, the Philippines' largest food and beverage maker, to re-acquire control of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc, BusinessWorld newspaper said on Monday.

The report, citing unnamed sources, said negotiations between San Miguel and Coca-Cola Amatil had ended, with San Miguel likely to give up its 21 percent interest in the Australian bottler for 65 percent of Coca-Cola Philippines.

In Sydney, a report in the Australian Financial Review newspaper said San Miguel and Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co would pay at least $1.2 billion ($A2.1 billion) for the Philippines softdrink bottling business, reflecting the net book value of the assets, in return for the cancellation of San Miguel's 21 per cent stake and part of Coke's 37 per cent stake.

Coke will exchange an 18 percent stake in Coca-Cola Amatil for a 35 percent interest in the Philippine softdrink bottler.

Under the deal, San Miguel and Coke would assume the Philippine bottler's debts, but the deal would no longer involve Coca-Cola Amatil's bottling operations in Indonesia and South Korea, the Philippine newspaper report said.

A San Miguel spokesman said the company had "no comment yet" on the report.

Coca-Cola Amatil said in response to the Australian article that discussions on the possible sale of its business in the Philippines were continuing.

"Should these discussions lead to an agreement to sell the Philippines business, the company will advise the market accordingly," Coca-Cola's Amatil's company secretary D.A. Wylie said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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