LONDON, March 27, 2026, 19:56 GMT
Coca-Cola HBC landed a 2.1 billion euro bond deal Thursday, pulling in over 7.1 billion euros in orders—well above the 1.5 billion euros the company initially targeted. As the books swelled, pricing was cut back by no less than 0.30 percentage points from where talks began.
Coca-Cola HBC plans to use the deal’s proceeds to cover general financing and refinancing, plus the cash portion tied to its planned buyout of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, or CCBA. The move locks in a funding route for what’s set to be the company’s largest expansion in recent years, with the acquisition still on track to wrap up by the end of 2026.
In October, Coca-Cola HBC struck a $2.6 billion deal to acquire a 75% stake in CCBA. The target runs operations across 14 African countries and represents roughly 40% of Coca-Cola system volumes sold in Africa; with the deal’s closure, Coca-Cola HBC would jump to the number-two spot among Coke bottlers by volume, trailing only Coca-Cola FEMSA. That’s according to company statements and reporting from Reuters.
The bonds landed in three tranches: 700 million euros maturing 2028 with a 3.375% coupon, 600 million euros due 2030 at 3.625%, and a final 800 million euros stretching to 2033 at 4.000%. Settlement is slated for April 1, according to Coca-Cola HBC, and the notes are headed for a London listing under its 10 billion euro Euro Medium Term Note programme—an ongoing vehicle for repeated bond issuance.
Coca-Cola HBC enters the market with modest leverage. For 2025, revenue landed at 11.6 billion euros, with organic EBIT up 11.5%. Net debt sits at just 0.7 times comparable adjusted EBITDA, the typical metric investors watch for debt load. In February, the company guided for 7% to 10% organic operating profit growth in 2026.
Zoran Bogdanovic, the chief executive, has been making the pitch for months. Back in February, he told Reuters the company was “constantly monitoring consumer sentiment” in its markets. In a separate comment, he pointed to “a deep understanding of Africa” built over years in Nigeria and since acquiring operations in Egypt in 2022. Reuters
Coca-Cola HBC originally planned to use a bridge loan for the cash portion of the CCBA deal, along with issuing new shares to Gutsche Family Investments—taking their stake to 5.47% of the expanded group. Now with the new bond sale, some of that financing looks to be moving onto longer-term debt, trimming reliance on the short-dated bridge.
Still, the financing doesn’t clear away the key hurdles. The CCBA deal is waiting on regulatory and antitrust sign-off; plus, Coca-Cola HBC holds an option to snap up the company’s remaining 25% stake over the next six years—a move that could call for extra capital down the line. S&P Global Ratings tagged the planned notes with a BBB+ issue rating, estimating pro forma debt to EBITDA will run about 2.1x to 2.2x in 2026, with only modest deleveraging expected after that.
The company has shifted gears, moving past the Africa deal announcement to securing long-term financing. Dutch subsidiary Coca-Cola HBC Finance B.V. is issuing the notes, backed by a guarantee from Swiss-based parent Coca-Cola HBC AG.
