Coca-Cola To Buy Gatorade Rival BodyArmor For $5.6B

Coca-Cola Co is buying full control of BodyArmor for $5.6 billion in a deal that values the sports drink brand at about $8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Coca-Cola, which already owns 30% of BodyArmor, is buying the remaining 70% from the company’s founders and investors, according to the WSJ report. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Monday, it added.

BodyArmor, which markets itself as electrolyte-filled energy recovery drink for athletes, currently makes about $1.4 billion in annual retail sales and has a 50% growth rate, Coca-Cola said.”It gives Coke a strong stable of products in the rapidly growing sports hydration category. It’s a nice premium brand that has opportunity for expansion over time,” Edward Jones analyst John Boylan said about BodyArmor that gained popularity after basketball star Kobe Bryant backed it in 2013.

At the time Coca-Cola took its initial stake, BodyArmor was valued at $2 billion, according to a Sunday Wall Street Journal report.

The deal comes as Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo face immense supply chain bottlenecks, forcing the companies to raise prices to counter higher freight and raw material costs. PepsiCo has even said it has had to deal with a shortage of Gatorade bottles.

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