This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:54 p.m. on Jul. 28, 2026.
As the acquisition race for LG H&H's beverage subsidiary Haitai htb has drawn strong interest, the market is also focusing on whether additional noncore businesses will be sold. If LG H&H continues to restructure its businesses, some expect that Coca-Cola Beverage could also be put up for sale after Haitai htb. However, industry experts say a sale of Coca-Cola Beverage will not be easy to realize immediately, considering its partnership with Coca-Cola headquarters.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 28th, multiple bidders took part in the preliminary bid for the sale of LG H&H subsidiary Haitai htb on the 24th. It is known that more than five to six parties submitted letters of intent (LOIs). The lead manager is Samjong KPMG.
With the auction attracting strong interest for now, some in the market are once again raising talk of a sale of Coca-Cola Beverage. The view is that LG H&H could first dispose of loss-making Haitai htb and then consider selling Coca-Cola Beverage, which is the core of its beverage business and far larger than Haitai htb.
Talk of selling Coca-Cola Beverage emerged as LG H&H focused on its main cosmetics business institutional sector. As LG H&H's cosmetics business has struggled due to the rise of indie brands and weakness in key markets, the market has consistently expected it to dispose of noncore businesses to secure funds to strengthen competitiveness in cosmetics. The sale of Haitai htb is also interpreted as part of efforts to raise funds to bolster the cosmetics business.
LG H&H has consistently drawn a line under rumors of a sale of Coca-Cola Beverage, saying they are "groundless." Coca-Cola Beverage is a company in which LG H&H holds 90% equity and a U.S. Coca-Cola affiliate holds the remaining 10%.
IB industry experts also see a low chance that LG H&H will begin the sale process for Coca-Cola Beverage in the short term. The biggest reason is that selling Coca-Cola Beverage would not end with a simple transfer of a corporate management control equity transaction. Coca-Cola Beverage is a "bottling" operator that manufactures and distributes products domestically using concentrate supplied by Coca-Cola headquarters in the United States.
A buyer would have to inherit not only corporate control but also the status of partner to produce and sell the Coca-Cola brand domestically over the long term. Consultation with Coca-Cola headquarters is inevitable during any change of control. In effect, it would be a transaction in which LG H&H selects a buyer while Coca-Cola headquarters chooses a new domestic business partner.
Haitai htb also handles some products for which Coca-Cola holds brand rights, such as "Minute Maid," but these make up only part of its overall business. Even if certain external brand contracts end, Haitai htb can continue operating around its own brands. A buyer could also take over rights to major brands such as "Bong Bong" and "Crushed Pear" and continue production and sales.
By contrast, Coca-Cola Beverage's main business is producing and selling products using concentrate supplied by Coca-Cola headquarters in the United States. Even if a buyer becomes the owner of Coca-Cola Beverage, it does not automatically acquire rights to the Coca-Cola brand and concentrate.
IB industry sources say the pool of potential bidders capable of making a run at the acquisition is limited. Coca-Cola Beverage is a large operator that runs nationwide production, logistics and sales organizations, as well as sales networks with major retailers and restaurant chains. It would be difficult for small or midsize strategic investors (SIs) that lack financial resources or experience in beverages and consumer goods to acquire and operate it.
There is also a view that acquisition by a private equity fund (PEF) manager would not be easy. Because private equity must retrieve capital after a set period, control of Coca-Cola Beverage could return to the market in a few years. From Coca-Cola headquarters' perspective, it may be uncomfortable if, after selecting a partner to run the domestic business long term, the shareholder changes again in just a few years. From a manager's perspective, if coordination with Coca-Cola headquarters is required when selling the company later, capital recovery would inevitably face constraints.
Still, the fact that Coca-Cola Beverage is a quality asset with high brand recognition and stable cash generation remains a factor that could attract potential bidders' interest.
Coca-Cola Beverage posted sales of 1.5965 trillion won and operating profit of 151 billion won last year. Both figures were down from 1.6357 trillion won in sales and 164.1 billion won in operating profit in 2024, but it is still maintaining an operating margin close to 10%.