Dispute over Ecuadorean Bottler Heats up

A deal to sell a 34.5% stake in Ecuador Bottling Company (EBC) to Chile’s Polar, also a Coca-Cola bottler, has been roadblocked by EBC’s majority shareholders, the Correa Group. The seller, an Ecuadorean investor called the Novis group, agreed to vend its stake to Polar in March for $64m. But Correa Group, which has the right of first refusal, is now trying to block the sale after having declined to acquire the stake. Correa Group’s strategy appears to be to prevent a transaction that would introduce a much more active investor into EBC, says a person familiar with the negotiations. Correa Group appears to be seeking out legal justifications that might help it block the sale, says the executive, who speculates EBC and Novis are also considering resorting to legal action against Correa Group to get the deal done. Analytica is advising the seller.