Kofola buying 49% in Alta Fermentacion, expanding in Latin America

Ostrava, North Moravia, Jan 26 (CTK) - Czech beverage group Kofola is buying 49 percent in Alta Fermentacion, which owns three microbreweries, a coffee roaster and a rum distillery in Latin America and has annual revenues of over USD20m (over Kc410m), Kofola told CTK in a press release today.

Both parties have decided not to disclose the transaction price, which should be settled by the end of the first half of this year.

Alta Fermentacion has more than 400 employees in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Kofola, which will become a minority owner of Alta Fermentacion, is expanding its operations in Latin America and increasing the export potential for its Czechoslovak and Adriatic brands. After Colombia and Panama, where it has been gaining experience for over a year thanks to coffee farms, it is now entering Ecuador, the company said.

Group CEO Jannis Samaras said Kofola was originally introduced to Latin America through coffee, as it was important for the company to source high-quality beans for its coffee brands. This opened up opportunities for further development in Latin America, he added.

Through this acquisition, Kofola is gaining three renowned microbreweries, high-quality local beer brands that are among the few available on tap in Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, as well as a network of nearly 40 authentic pubs and cafes, said Samaras. Thanks to synergies, he said he wanted to increase efficiency and multiply sales on both sides.

Alta Fermentacion's goal is to become the leading craft beer and beverage company in Colombia and Panama by 2030. It is glad to have found a partner like Kofola on this journey of development, said Berny Silberwasser and Tomas Delfino from Alta Fermentacion.

The craft brewery in Panama produces 660,000 litres of La Rana Dorada beer annually, which is served in 11 pubs. The second key brewery produces the Pola del Pub and Germania brands in Bogota, while the third brewery is based in Ecuador and focuses on the Sinners brand.

Alta Fermentacion's business also includes the COLO Coffee brand, which operates nine cafes of the same name and consumes 26,000 kilograms of coffee annually, Kofola said.

The portfolio is complemented by the Panamanian distillery Pedro Mandinga, which produces 26,000 bottles of rum annually.

Kofola has 14 production plants on five European markets. In addition to the beverage of the same name, the company's products include beverages from the Rajec, Korunni, Ondrasovka, Klastorna Kalcia, Jupi, Vinea, and Semtex brands. The group includes the fresh juice and salad producer UGO, the Czech herbal tea and herbal mixture producer Leros, the beer producers Holba, Zubr, and Litovel Pivovary CZ Group, the Slovenian company Radenska, and the Croatian mineral water producer Studenac. Kofola has approximately 3,200 employees.

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