Polmex Holdings, S.L. Unipersonal agreed to acquire 11% stake in Grupo Gepp S.A.P.I. de C.V. from Organización Cultiba, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:CULTIBA B).
October 25, 2016
Share
Polmex Holdings, S.L. Unipersonal agreed to acquire 11% stake in Grupo Gepp S.A.P.I. de C.V. from Organización Cultiba, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:CULTIBA B) on October 26, 2016. As part of the deal, Polmex exercised the option to acquire from Cultiba 11% of shares representing the share capital of Grupo Gepp. Upon completion of the transaction, CULTIBA’s stake in Grupo GEPP will be reduced to 40%, POLMEX will increase its stake to 40%. The number of members forming Board of Directors of Grupo GEPP will increase from eight to ten directors, with POLMEX having the right to designate four members instead of two members.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and should be completed 30 days after the fair market value of the shares is determined taking into consideration any additional period time required to obtain the corresponding regulatory approvals. The sale of shares contract will be signed with POLMEX in the coming days. The closing will be subject to the condition that both the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica and the Comisión Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras authorize the transaction, or that, in accordance with the law, it may be considered that, once the waiting period established in these provisions, COFECE and/or CNIE do not have any objection to the transaction or have granted an implicit authorization. The proceeds will be used to settle the debt of CULTIBA and its local financial obligations.
On April 3, 2016, Mexican Anti-Trust and Foreign Investment Commissions approved the transaction. On April 23 2017, the Company deployed part of the proceeds from the transaction to pay its long-term financial obligations in full. Juan Gallardo will remain as GEPP´s Chairman. Polmex will appoint two additional directors to GEPP’s board, resulting in a board composition of: four directors from Polar, four from CULTIBA, and two from PepsiCo. UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisor to Grupo GEPP.
Organizacion Cultiba SAB de CV (Cultiba) is a Mexico-based holding company principally engaged, together with its subsidiaries, in the beverages industry. The Company has license from Pepsi-Co Inc to produce, distribute and sell mainly the Pepsi Cola, Manzanita Sol, Mirinda, Kas, Gatorade, Lipton, Be Light, Mountain Dew and Seven Up soft drink trademarks. The Company also produces and distributes bottled water under the Trisoda, Santorini and Junghanns brands, among others. In addition, the Company is involved in the production of cane sugar and molasses. The Company owns such subsidiaries as Geusa SA de Tala Electric SA de CV, Agroestevia SA de CV, Geupec Administracion SA de CV, Ingenio Rosales SA de CV and Embotelladora Valle de Oaxaca SA de CV, among others. On August 31, 2013, Cultiba incorporated Grupo Azucarero Mexico SA de CV (GAM) and Controladora de Negocios Azucareros SA de CV (CONASA).
Polmex Holdings, S.L. Unipersonal agreed to acquire 11% stake in Grupo Gepp S.A.P.I. de C.V. from Organización Cultiba, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: CULTIBA B).
ORGANIZACIÓN CULTIBA, S.A.B. DE C.V. 
