At the December 30 session of the International Press Club, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Kuchkarov spoke about the preparations for the sale of the state share in Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan, Ltd.
“To date, we have received 3 proposals. I can’t reveal their names now. There will be an auction. The Rothschild company collects proposals. It is one of the platforms of the auction. For example, the Rothschilds present us proposals, say that “this company offered $40 million, that company – $50 million, or another – $70 million.” If someone wants to give $70 million, the Uzbek government will start negotiations. This means that we will hold talks with those who are ready to pay more,” Kun.uz correspondent quoted the minister as saying.
The issue of selling the state share in Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan, Ltd. for privatization has been on the agenda since 2018. In November this year, an appeal was made to foreign investors on the sale of the state’s stake in the company.
In his address to the parliament on December 29, 2020, the President of Uzbekistan said that in 2021 the state shares in 83 large enterprises will be put up for sale, in particular, the Coca-Cola network will be privatized.
For information, the State Assets Management Agency has announced its intention to sell 57.118% of the state share in the charter capital of Coca-Cola Ichimligi Uzbekistan, Ltd. through a transparent sale process established by the State Commission for Tenders.
Coca-Cola Ichimligi Uzbekistan, Ltd. has three production facilities in Tashkent, Namangan and Urgench. The organization also has a network of modern warehouses. In addition, it is planned to build a new enterprise in Samarkand.
In the twelve-month period ended on December 31, 2019, the company’s revenue amounted to 1.4 trillion soums, this figure showed an increase of about 46% compared to December 31, 2018.