(Ecofin Agency) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) will sell 54.5% of its stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) to US giant Coca-Cola. We are pleased to have reached an agreement quickly that is in everyone’s best interests, said Mhutar Kent, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

Through this acquisition, Coca-Cola which so far held 11.3% of CCBA increases its stake to 65.8%. It will thus become the majority stakeholder in CCBA, which is one of Africa’s largest bottling companies.

According to Sasha Naryshkine, Analyst, the transaction is a strategic move, Bloomberg says. “The acquisition of AB InBev’s stake in the venture provides a firm footing in a region that is probably one of the last where it can grow its core soft drinks products,” she said.

Besides buying AB InBev’s stake in CCBA, Coca-Cola announced it has committed to acquiring its shares in bottling companies situated in various African nations like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho, but in South American nations such as Salvador and Honduras also.

Let’s recall that CCBA bottles Coca-Cola’s products in twelve East and South African nations.