History
The company's Australian origins date back to 1904 as the tobacco company British Tobacco (Australia). Its first foray into soft drinks came in 1964 with the purchase of Coca-Cola Bottlers (Perth), and the company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1972.
Soft drinks and snack foods gradually became the primary focus of the company, which was renamed Amatil Limited in 1977. It began to expand bottling operations overseas in Europe, purchasing a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Australia in 1982 and expanding into Fiji and New Zealand in 1987. A majority stake was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company in 1989, although today its ownership is 30.4%.
The snack food operations were sold in 1992, and European operations were spun off into a new company, Coca-Cola Beverages, in 1998. Expansion into Asia continued, though Filipino bottling was eventually sold to San Miguel Brewery and parent The Coca-Cola Company.
Its most recent purchase activity has been the acquisition of fruit producer and packager SPC Ardmona Ltd. Until May 2007, the company also operated the online music store, Coke Tunes, out of New Zealand.
Coca-Cola Amatil's managing director is Terry Davis, and the board chairman is David Gonski.
CCA has facilities all over Australia, with key sites at Northmead (NSW), North sydney (NSW), Richlands (Qld), Moorabbin (VIC), Thebarton (SA) and Kewdale (WA).
On 26 September 2007, CCA announced it was making a conditional takeover bid for 100% of Golden Circle, but it lost to the H. J. Heinz Company.
In 2008 the company released a series of so-called "myth-busting" advertisements in Australia featuring actress Kerry Armstrong. The ads attempted to discredit health concerns consumers had about Coca Cola, including that it "makes you fat" and "rots your teeth". The company was forced to withdraw the claims and publish corrections in newspapers after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled they misled consumers.
From 2006 to 2011, CCA had a joint venture (named Pacific Beverages) with SABMiller to distribute its drinks in Australia. In 2011, SABMiller acquired Foster's Group and full ownership of Pacific Beverages; in exchange, Foster's sold its Fiji and Samoa operations to Coca-Cola Amatil in 2012.
Read more about this topic: Coca-Cola Amatil
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