FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coca-Cola HBC AG
Commencement of share purchase programme
Zug, Switzerland - 3 December 2018 - Coca-Cola HBC AG ("Company") announces that it will commence today a share purchase programme for up to 7,500,000 of its ordinary shares of 6.70 CHF each ("ordinary shares") in the capital of the Company ("Share Purchase Programme").
Any purchases of its ordinary shares done in connection with this announcement will be carried out on the London Stock Exchange and will take place within the limitations of the authority granted by the annual general meeting held on 11 June 2018. Share purchases will be conducted in accordance with Chapter 12 of the UK Listing Rules and within the parameters prescribed by Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("Market Abuse Regulation").
The purpose of the Share Purchase Programme is to (i) avoid dilution resulting from the issue of stock options; and (ii) meet the requirements of the Company's employee incentive scheme. The majority of the repurchased ordinary shares are intended to be cancelled upon receiving approval from the Company's shareholders and subsequent implementation of a capital decrease. The repurchased ordinary shares will be held in treasury until these are either awarded to employees under the Company's employee incentive scheme or the respective capital reduction is implemented.
The maximum amount allocated to the Share Purchase Programme is GBP 225 million and the maximum number of ordinary shares that will be purchased is 7,500,000. The Share Purchase Programme will end no later than the expiry of the authority granted by the annual general meeting held on 11 June 2018. This authority expires at the latest on 30 June 2019 or, if earlier, the date of the Company's next annual general meeting in 2019.
The Company has instructed Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited ("Credit Suisse") to conduct the Share Purchase Programme on its behalf.
This announcement is made in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation.
Enquiries
Coca‑Cola HBC Group Maria Livaniou Head of shareowner services |
Tel: +30 210 6183 106 [email protected] |
About Coca‑Cola HBC
Coca-Cola HBC is a leading bottler of The Coca-Cola Company with an annual sales volume of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has a broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries serving a population of approximately 600 million people. Coca-Cola HBC offers a diverse range of primarily non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola HBC is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting its business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of the local communities. Coca-Cola HBC has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices since 2008, and ranked among the top beverage companies in the Global and European indices for the past four years. Coca-Cola HBC is also included in the FTSE4Good Index, rated "AAA" on the MSCI ESG index, rated "A" for Climate and Water by CDP and listed on the Sustainalytics and Vigeo rankings.
Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCH) and its shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEE). For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colahellenic.com.
Important notice relating to Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is acting exclusively for the Company and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Credit Suisse, nor for providing advice in relation to the content of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. Neither Credit Suisse nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Credit Suisse in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.
