UAC Nigeria Plc has deposited N19.2 billion as part of its share purchase agreement for the acquisition of CHI Limited.
BusinessDay reports that according to the group’s third-quarter 2025 financial statement, the amount represents a portion of the total purchase consideration for the acquisition.
However, the full transaction value remains undisclosed.
Funding the acquisition
To fund the transaction, UAC Nigeria disposed of all its Eurobond investments during the review period.
As of June 30, 2025, the group held Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Eurobonds, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Eurobonds, and Ecobank Nigeria Eurobonds worth a combined N5.58 billion. These were sold for N5.5 billion to generate liquidity for the CHI acquisition.
While the company reported a net operating cash flow of N18.1 billion as of the first nine months of 2025, it is unclear if part of its N43.2 billion new borrowings was directed toward the CHI deposit.
The transaction, therefore, appears to be financed through a combination of asset disposals, internal cash generation, and debt.
On July 29, 2025, UAC Nigeria announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire CHI Limited, the manufacturer of popular beverage and dairy brands such as Hollandia and Chivita, from The Coca-Cola Company.
Coca-Cola initially acquired a 40 percent stake in CHI in 2016 before completing a full takeover in 2019.
According to BusinessDay findings, the U.S. beverage giant spent approximately $694.5 million, equivalent to between N160 billion and N170 billion at the time, to acquire CHI.
However, just six years later, Coca-Cola exited the Nigerian business, taking a $393 million haircut on its investment.
The divestment underscores the company’s growing caution toward the volatile Nigerian market, where the naira has lost nearly 80 percent of its value between 2019 and 2025.