Arca / Grupo Continental

Arca and Grupo Continental were two of Mexico's largest Coca-Cola bottlers, with complementary territories and controlling families who had never combined. The strategic case existed for years before the transaction did.

The transaction was originated on the advisory side: the idea of a combination with Continental was presented to Arca, together with the complementarity of the two footprints and the strategic rationale within the Mexican bottling sector. Over a long period, working relationships were built with the controlling shareholders of both companies, and a series of structures were put to Arca until the transaction was ready. The final structure was a simple merger of equals, with corporate commitments that aligned the interests of a large and diverse shareholder base.

The merger created the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America and the third largest in the world. Industry analysts described the structure as clean and elegant. Both stocks rose about 15% on the announcement, and Arca Continental's shares rose more than 50% as the market absorbed the transaction.