Beverage giant Coca-Cola is considering selling its majority stake in its African bottling unit, a Bloomberg report says.

Coca-Cola has a 66.5 per cent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa and is considering a sale or an initial public offering among its exit options, Bloomberg reported.

Sources told Bloomberg that the plans were still at the discussion stage and the valuation could change depending on buyer interest. The deal could value the entire unit at approximately $6 billion. 

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, based in South Africa, operates in 13 countries across southern and eastern Africa, including more than 30 bottling plants. 

The African unit accounts for about 40 per cent of the company’s drinks sold on the continent.

In 2017, Coca-Cola initially tried to sell its stake in the unit,  drawing interest from Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and Heineken NV, Bloomberg reported. It had just bought the stake in 2016, the  largest bottling unit in Africa from Anheuser-Busch InBev  (BUD) for $3.15 billion.

Last month, the soft drink giant posted its earnings and reinstated guidance despite uncertainties sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, despite it’s earlier recorded drop in organic sales, which fell by three per cent, in Q4 of 2020.