June 1 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola said on Monday it was exploring a potential initial public offering in India for Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings, the parent of its largest bottler in the country.
The beverage giant is preparing to list the bottling unit on India's BSE and the National Stock Exchange in 2027 and is exploring the sale of a portion of its stake in the bottler, it added.
It currently holds a 60% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings after Indian conglomerate Jubilant Bhartia Group completed
the purchase of a 40% stake in the bottler in 2025.
The bottler, established in 1997, operates 14 bottling plants across 10 states in India and packages, distributes, and sells beverages, including Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, and Fanta.
"The Coca-Cola Company will stay invested in this important bottler and focus on growing our portfolio of global and local brands in India," said Sanket Ray, Coca-Cola president for India and Southwest Asia and emerging large markets lead.
Coca-Cola counts India as a major growth market. It reported sales of 50 billion rupees ($526.37 million) in 2024-25, its highest since at least 2021.
The drinks giant has been facing competition in India from Reliance's consumer-product brand Campa Cola. Bloomberg News reported last year that an IPO would value the Coca-Cola bottling unit at $10 billion.
Coca-Cola said it retained Rothschild to advise on the listing.
($1 = 94.9900 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Rashmi Aich)
