Mexican Cola bottler delves deeper into snacks with two acquisitions

AC has snapped up US-based Wise Foods and Ecuador’s Inalsecsa for an undisclosed sum.

The Mexican bottling firm is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. Alongside its core bottling business, it also produces and distributes snack foods across Mexico under the brand Bokados.

The double-deal addition to its own snacks arm is set to secure net sales of around $400m in 2013, it said.

“The integration of Wise Foods and Inalecsca reinforces our confidence in this segment of the snack industry as an important vehicle for creating value for our shareholders, in areas that are highly complementary to our core business,”​ Manuel Barragan Morales, chairman and board of directors of AC said.

Market footholds​

AC said the move will also strengthen its foothold in the US and Ecuador, enabling it to expand its Mexican snacks brand into new markets.

Francisco Garza-Egloff, CEO of AC, said the deals would increase presence and competitiveness in both markets.

“Both ​[companies] provide a solid platform that will bring innovation to our portfolio, product and brand expansion as well as beneficial synergies and the sharing of best practices,”​ he said.

AC currently has a snacks presence in California and Texas, through its affiliate Interex. The purchase of Wise Foods will see AC take on a sturdy distribution network and production totaling close to 40,000 tons of product each year.

Through its Inalecsa purchase, the bottler will take on some of Ecuador’s leading snack brands including Inacake, Tigreton, Tortolines, Riskos and Tornaditos along with two production centers that operate at a capacity of close to 8,000 tons of products per year.

The Wise Foods buy remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, AC said, that are expected to be obtained promptly.