Bill Gates buys stake in Mexican company

MEXICO CITY: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has acquired a 14.7 percent stake in a Mexican company, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America.

The firm, Femsa, confirmed that the US billionaire had acquired a stake after reports in the Mexican press said he owned 29.9 percent of the company.

The company, however, made it clear that the percentage (29.9 percent) was only of the shares available to the public via the stock exchanges in Mexico City and New York.

It welcomed Gates's investment, considering it an endorsement of its strategy, growth prospects and consistent results.

Femsa operates in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina and sells some two billion cases of beverages annually.