Colombia’s largest beverage company, Postobon, has been sold to Guatemala’s Central America Bottling Corporation (CBC), a subsidiary of the butterfly group. According to sources in Guatemala, the deal was sealed and it includes traditional brands like Colombiana. The iconic Colombian beverage corporation will stop being Colombian.
Despite the exact transaction value not being disclosed, financial sources say that as of December 31, 2024, the value of Postobon, Colombiana and Lux beverages was worth US$2.8 Billion.
CBC was founded in 1885 in Gutemala City, and is recognized as PepsiCo’s oldest bottler outside the United States. Due to financial instability, CBC was forced to use international and Colombian banks that would grant them the capital for the Guatemala based bottler to acquire Postobon.
Colombia sells Postobon to Guatemala-based bottler
The first formal contact between CBC and Postobon reportedly took place in 2017, when both companies participated in PepsiCo’s Eco–Reto, an environmental innovation program. Since then, they maintained a close, discreet relationship that culminated in this acquisition.
During the negotiations, it was speculated that the Chilean Compañía Cervecerías Unidas (CCU), part of the Luksic Group, would be the natural buyer of Postobón, especially since the two firms had formed Central Cervecera de Colombia S.A.S. in 2015 on an equal-partnership basis.
Despite this initial speculation, CCU’s partnership with Heineken made this impossible, because Heineken’s portfolio does not include sodas. This would have severly limited CCU’s interest in the transaction.
With CBC, Postobon will now be handled by one of the most important bottlers and distributors in the region, as they not only have presence in 35 different markets, but include operations in 16 different countries.
CBC operates in countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador and several caribbean islands.
Postobon is an iconic Colombian brand with more than 120 years of history. Its logistics and distribution network covers nearly 90% of the national territory, operating 18 production plants and 53 distribution centers. Crucially, Postobon is part of the Ardila Lulle Organization (OAL), a conglomerate that is controlled by Carlos Julio, Antonio José, María Emma and María Eugenia Ardila. The company delivered an outstanding performance in 2023, posting revenues of more than COP 5.3 trillion ($US 1.3 billion) and a 70% increase in net income, which surpassed COP 183 billion ($US 45.5 million)