CBC more than doubled production of clean, safe drinking water during Phatisa’s investment
Embraced important sustainable development goals & environmental management best practices
Phatisa has sold its significant minority share in Côte d’Ivoire bottler Continental Beverage Company (CBC) to promoter and majority shareholder Teyliom International Group (“Teyliom”), for an undisclosed sum.
Originally backed by Phatisa in 2013, CBC specialises in the production and marketing of hygienic (non-alcoholic) beverages – offering consumers drinks that meet the strictest international standards – under the Olgane brand. It is one of the largest bottled water producers in Côte d’Ivoire, with a national distribution network.
Teyliom is a pan-African investment company with a strong presence across various sectors in West Africa such as Property, Hospitality, Finance, Industry and Telecom. They had been a shareholder in CBC, alongside Phatisa’s Food Fund 1 (AAF).
Over the course of Phatisa’s investment, CBC more than doubled its production of clean, safe drinking water. During this time, the business also commissioned two additional production lines, and appointed highly experienced management – resulting in strong profit growth.
Lize Lubbe, Principal at Phatisa, commented:
“Phatisa and Teyliom have worked extremely hard alongside CBC’s executive team to overcome a challenging economic environment to deliver meaningful growth. Despite headwinds and the COVID pandemic, CBC has sustained a dedicated workforce of permanent employees; we thank them and the management team for their commitment to producing safe, clean drinking water in Côte d’Ivoire. Always with sustainable development goals (SDGs) in mind, our investment in CBC primarily targeted SDG 8 and 12, decent work and economic growth and responsible consumption and production respectively. We are delighted to know that the measures we helped put in place towards these SDGs will be safeguarded within the Teyliom Group.”
Martin Kromat, Senior Partner at Phatisa, added:
“Phatisa and Teyliom supported the CBC team to expand capacity, enhance distribution and further grow awareness of its leading water brand Olgane. Beyond an impressive increase in safe drinking water produced, CBC embraced environmental and social initiatives, including a robust environmental and social management system that the business is able to take forward. We are proud of the collaboration over the years with the many CBC colleagues in the adoption of best practices and a sound business strategy.”
Jean-Charles BESSE Group CFO of Teyliom, commented :
“We will continue to develop our investment in CBC with major capex and support the wider organisation. The business will play an important role in our portfolio of businesses.”
Yerim Sow Chairman and CEO of Teyliom concluded:
“We thank Phatisa for the role they’ve played and expertise shared with us since 2013. This resulted in the growth of our agri business unit, which contributes meaningfully to Africa’s development by providing innovative products and services tailored to fit the needs of B2C, B2B and B2G customer segments.”
The transaction has received all regulatory approvals.