Coca-Cola readies $1-billion IPO for Indian bottling arm HCCB, appoints bankers
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Coca-Cola has appointed investment bankers Kotak, HDFC Group, and Citibank for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian bottling subsidiary Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), with a target fundraise of about $1 billion (around ₹9,027 crore), according to media report.
Coca-Cola aims to list HCCB at a valuation of $10 billion
Citing an executive, the report said Coca-Cola is aiming to list HCCB at a valuation of close to $10 billion later this year. The IPO could be deferred to 2027 only if peak summer demand is significantly disrupted by rains, as seen last year.
The planned offering comes amid a spate of large Indian listings by multinational consumer companies. Hyundai Motor India raised a record $3.3 billion while LG Electronics raised $1.3 billion through their respective IPOs in 2024 and 2025.
Coca-Cola’s product portfolio
Coca-Cola is a dominant player in India’s ₹60,000-crore soft drinks market and manufactures and distributes brands such as Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Sprite, Maaza, Kinley, Dasani, Georgia Coffee, and Schweppes in the country.
The IPO process was set in motion over a year ago after Coca-Cola sold a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd, the parent company of HCCB, to the Jubilant Bhartia Group for ₹12,500 crore. The deal was part of Coca-Cola’s global asset-light strategy, which prioritises brand building, innovation, and digitisation over owning capital-intensive bottling operations.
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Jubilant FoodWorks, a Jubilant Bhartia Group company, operates brands such as Domino’s Pizza, Popeyes and Dunkin’ Donuts in India. The partnership with HCCB is expected to create long-term synergies between beverage and quick-service restaurant businesses.
Company focuses on operational excellence
An HCCB spokesperson told a media outlet that the company remains focused on operational excellence under a realigned leadership team, declining to comment directly on the IPO plans. In July last year, HCCB appointed Hemant Rupani, former president for Southeast Asia at Mondelez, as chief executive, replacing Juan Pablo Rodriguez.
The spokesperson added that HCCB has passed on GST-led pricing benefits to consumers and described other reports as speculative.
Coca-Cola supplies concentrate to its bottling partners and, in India, operates 15 plants through HCCB alongside multiple independent bottlers, with operations now split almost evenly between the two.
HCCB earnings at a glance
HCCB reported revenue of ₹12,751.29 crore in FY25, down 9% on year, according to Registrar of Companies filings sourced from Tofler. The decline followed the sale of manufacturing plants in Rajasthan, Bihar, the North East, and parts of West Bengal to independent franchise bottlers, including Moon Beverages, Kandhari Global Beverages, and SLMG Beverages.
For the nine months ended September 2025, Coca-Cola reported $7 million in transaction costs and a net gain of $102 million from refranchising certain Indian bottling operations. Industry-wide beverage sales were hit during the period due to muted demand caused by unseasonal and persistent rains during the peak summer months of April to September, which typically account for about half of annual soft drink consumption.