AUSTRALIAN COMPANY BUYS STAKE IN COCA-COLA BOTTLERS IN ZAGREB

$ B ZAGREB, April 7 (Hina) - The Australian company "Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd" will buy 75% of the shares of the Croatian company "Coca-Cola Bottlers" from Zagreb. "Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd" is one of the world's biggest bottlers and distributors of non-alcoholic drinks. It has bottling plants in 13 countries on three continents. The owner of these shares is "The Coca-Cola Company", Atlanta, USA. The decision to sell 75% of the shares was made because "The Coca-Cola Company" was not primarily interested in the bottling business but in the sale of extracts, Nina Andjal, Vienna-based Coca-Cola representative for relations with countries in southeast Europe, said in a telephone interview with Hina. The transaction should be completed by the end of April. More than 18% of the shares would remain the property of "Coca-Cola Bottlers Ltd" employees while six percent would go to the pension fund. (hina) jn rm vm 071251 MET apr 95