In an exchange filing, the company said, “The board of directors of the company has considered and approved to acquire 100% stake in the business conducted by The Beverage Company (Proprietary) Ltd, South Africa along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (hereinafter referred to as "Bevco") with an option to accept minority co-investment from large equity fund subject.”

The proposed transaction at an enterprise level is valued at around Rs 1,320 crore (about ZAR 3 billion), it added.

Bevco is engaged in the business of manufacturing and distribution of licensed (PepsiCo Inc.) / own-branded non-alcoholic beverages in South Africa. Bevco has franchise rights from PepsiCo Inc. in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. Further, it also has distribution rights for Namibia and Botswana. BevCo’s net revenue for FY23 was about Rs 1,590 crore (ZAR 3,615 million).

The acquisition will enable Varun Beverages to expand its geographical footprint in Africa, said the company.

The indicative time frame for the completion of the acquisition is set on or before 31 July 2024.

Meanwhile, the company announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Government of Jharkhand for its proposed manufacturing plant in Patratu, Jharkand with a total capital outlay of around Rs 450 crore (subject to necessary approvals) when fully commissioned in due course.

Varun Beverages is a key player in beverage industry and one of the largest franchisees of PepsiCo in the world (outside USA). The company produces and distributes a wide range of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), as well as a large selection of non-carbonated beverages (NCBs), including packaged drinking water sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo. As on date, VBL has been granted franchises for various PepsiCo products across 27 States and 7 Union Territories in India. VBL has also been granted the franchise for various PepsiCo products for the territories of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The beverage maker's consolidated net profit jumped 31.50% to Rs 501.07 crore on 21.84% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,870.52 crore in Q3 CY23 over Q3 CY22.