Coca-Cola on Friday announced a shock deal to buy the coffee chain Costa Coffee from its parent company Whitbread in a deal valued at just shy of $5.1 billion (£3.9 billion).
The acquisition marks Coca-Cola’s first meaningful foray into the coffee market as it seeks to diversify in the face of a market-wide slowdown in sales for fizzy, sugary beverages.
✅ Coca-Cola is buying UK-based coffee-giant Costa Coffee for $5.1 billion (£3.9 billion).
✅ British investment bank Rothschild & Co is advising Coca-Cola on the deal.
✅ Whitbread, the parent of Costa Coffee, has instructed Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank to advise on the transaction.
The deal is expected to cause a major shakeup in the coffee space, and be seen as a direct challenge to the dominance of Starbucks in the US. Costa Coffee has more UK stores than Starbucks, and prior to the takeover was already expanding globally.