Filed by Coca-Cola HBC AG and

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A.

pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933 and

deemed filed pursuant to Rules 14d-2 and 14d-9 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Subject Companies:

Coca-Cola HBC AG

(Commission File No. 132-02769)

 

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A.

(Commission File No. 001-31466)

 

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. (the “Company”) announces according to the provisions of law 3556/2007 that it was informed on 11 October 2012 by Coca-Cola HBC AG that due to the tender offer submitted by the latter on 10 October 2012 for acquisition of the Company’s shares, Coca-Cola HBC AG is deemed according to art. 10 (a) of law 3556/2007 and par. 1.2.2. (a) of Circular 33 of the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission to act in concert with Kar-Tess Holding and therefore to have acquired the voting rights (of a percentage of 23.3%) that correspond to the 85,355,019 shares that Kar-Tess Holding holds in the Company.

 

Important Notices

 

General

 

The exchange offer described herein is addressed to Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A.’s shareholders and only to persons to whom it may be lawfully addressed.  The Greek exchange offer will be made in the territory of the Hellenic Republic and to the public in the United Kingdom.  The making of the exchange offer to specific persons who are residents in or nationals or citizens of jurisdictions outside the Hellenic Republic, the United Kingdom or the United States or to custodians, nominees or trustees of such persons (the “Excluded Shareholders”) may be made only in accordance with the laws of the relevant jurisdiction.

 

The exchange offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, by mail or by any means in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or any jurisdiction within which, under its laws, rules and regulations, the submission, the making or the presentation of the exchange offer or the mailing or distribution of, the Greek information circular, the prospectus relating to the ordinary shares of Coca-Cola HBC AG approved by the United Kingdom Listing Authority (the “Prospectus”), a declaration of acceptance and any other document or material relevant thereto (together, the “Greek Offer Documents”) is illegal or contravenes any applicable legislation, rule or regulation (together, the “Excluded Territories”) except as set out below for the United States. Accordingly, copies of any such documents and materials will not be, and must not be, directly

 



 

or indirectly, mailed, distributed or otherwise sent to anyone or from anyone in or into or from any Excluded Territory.

 

No person receiving a copy of this document or of any Greek Offer Document in any jurisdiction outside the Hellenic Republic or the United Kingdom (or any documents relating to the U.S. Exchange Offer other than in the United States or to holders of Coca-Cola Hellenic ADSs)  may treat any such document as if it constituted a solicitation or offer to such person and under no circumstances may such person use any Greek Offer Document if, in the relevant jurisdiction, such solicitation or offer may not be lawfully made to such person or if such Greek Offer Document may not be lawfully used without breaching any legal requirements. In those instances, any such Greek Offer Document is sent for information purposes only.

 

United States

 

Separate documentation for the U.S. exchange offer will be made available to holders of ordinary shares of Coca-Cola Hellenic located in the United States and holders of American depositary shares representing ordinary shares of Coca-Cola Hellenic, wherever located.  No offering of securities shall be made in the United States except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

It is the responsibility of the Excluded Shareholders wishing to accept an exchange offer to inform themselves of and ensure compliance with the laws of their respective jurisdictions in relation to the exchange offer. If you are an Excluded Shareholder and have any doubts as to your status, you should consult with your professional advisor in the relevant jurisdiction.

 

Coca-Cola HBC AG and Coca-Cola Hellenic may be required to file materials relevant to the U.S. exchange offer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Such documents, however, may not all be currently available. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE POTENTIAL TRANSACTION FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors will be able to obtain a free copy of such filings without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov) once such documents are filed with the SEC. Copies of such documents may also be obtained from Coca-Cola HBC AG and Coca-Cola Hellenic, without charge, once they are filed with the SEC. No offering of securities shall be made in the United States except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

This document does not contain, constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or subscribe or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction, and neither this document (nor any part of it) nor the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or may be relied upon in connection with, or act as any inducement to enter into, any contract or commitment whatsoever.

 

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

The information contained in this document is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness,

 



 

accuracy or fairness. The information in this document is subject to change. The dates of the exchange offer and the Admission may change. There is no guarantee that the exchange offer and the Admission will occur and you should not base your financial decisions on Coca-Cola HBC AG’s intentions at this stage in relation to the exchange offer and the Admission.

 

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “believe,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “target” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts, including, among others, statements regarding expected take-up of the exchange offer; plans for Coca-Cola Hellenic and for Coca-Cola HBC AG following completion of the exchange offer; planned times and places of listings of the ordinary shares and American depositary shares of Coca-Cola HBC AG; planned de-listings and U.S. de-registration of the ordinary shares and American depositary shares of Coca-Cola Hellenic; Coca-Cola Hellenic’s future financial position and results; Coca-Cola Hellenic’s outlook for 2012 and future years; business strategy; the effects of the global economic slowdown; the impact of the sovereign debt crisis, currency volatility, Coca-Cola Hellenic’s recent acquisitions, and restructuring initiatives on Coca-Cola Hellenic’s business and financial condition; Coca-Cola Hellenic’s future dealings with The Coca-Cola Company; budgets; projected levels of consumption and production; projected raw material and other costs; estimates of capital expenditure and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. Actual results and events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons.

 

Although Coca-Cola HBC AG and Coca-Cola Hellenic believe that, as of the date of this document, the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, Coca-Cola HBC AG and Coca-Cola Hellenic cannot assure you that future events will meet these expectations. Moreover, neither Coca-Cola HBC AG nor Coca-Cola Hellenic nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. After the date of this document, unless Coca-Cola Hellenic is required by law or the rules of the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority to update these forward-looking statements, Coca-Cola Hellenic will not necessarily update any of these forward-looking statements to conform them either to actual results or to changes in expectations.