An announcement has just been made by the Coca-Cola Company that it has completed its acquisition of Chi Ltd. in Nigeria.

Coca-Cola first announced a minority investment in Chi three years ago and, as planned, has now acquired full ownership of the company. Chi is recognized in West Africa as an innovative, fast-growing leader in expanding beverage categories, including juices, value-added dairy and iced tea.

The company, founded in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1980, produces juice under the Chivita brand and value-added dairy under the Hollandia brand, among many other products.

Coca-Cola acquired a 40 percent stake in Chi in 2016 from Tropical General Investments Group, the holding company for Chi Ltd. Juices and value-added dairy categories rank among the fastest-growing beverage segments in Nigeria and Africa.

This acquisition further signals Coca-Cola’s optimism about Africa’s consumer opportunity and a commitment to its long-term investment and growth plan on the continent, where it has been present for more than 90 years.

“Coca-Cola is continuing to evolve as a total beverage company, and Chi’s diverse range of beverages perfectly complements our existing portfolio, enabling us to accelerate expansion into new categories and grow our business in Africa,” said Peter Njonjo, president of the West Africa business unit of Coca-Cola.

“We will support the Chi management team in building on the company’s remarkable heritage and achievements, while using the scale of the Coca-Cola system to replicate their success in more markets across Africa.”

Incorporated Nigeria in 1980 by Dutch entrepreneur, Cornelis Vink, it began operations in March of the same year. The company is part of the Tropical General Investment (TGI) conglomerate which has diverse business interests in food, healthcare, agriculture, engineering and other industries.

The company began distribution of Capri sonne in 1982 which later emerged as one of its flagship brands. In 1990, it introduced to market CHI juice, originally sold in cans but after a couple of years it was packaged in Tetra Pak. In 1996, the firm introduced Chivita orange flavoured juice to the market and like the previous drink it was originally sold in cans until 1997 when a paper carton packaging machine was installed. The firm later launched three new flavours in Tetra Brik: pineapple, mango and apple and in 1999 it introduced blends of orange and pineapple.

CHI Limited was pioneer in the industry in the use of Tetra Pak packaging for its dairy product, Hollandia.

On 30 January 2016, Coca-Cola announced a binding agreement for The Coca-Cola Company to acquire an initial minority equity shareholding in Chi Limited.

Within the agreement, Coca-Cola made an initial 40 percent equity investment in Chi Limited and intends to increase ownership to 100 percent within three years, subject to regulatory approvals, while working on other long-term commercial structures.

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