The Coca-Cola Company announced that it has acquired full ownership of BODYARMOR, a line of sports performance and hydration beverages that is incremental to the Coca-Cola beverage portfolio and has significant potential for long-term growth.
In 2018, Coca-Cola initially acquired a 15% stake in BODYARMOR with a path to full ownership, based on a pre-determined discount. Coca-Cola is paying $5.6 billion in cash for the remaining 85% of the company.
BODYARMOR will be managed as a separate business within Coca-Cola’s North America operating unit and will continue to be based in New York. Under a separate consulting and transition-services agreement, the executive leadership team, including Co-founder and Chairman Mike Repole and President Brent Hastie, has agreed to continue to work to maintain the brand’s successful momentum in the market. They are committed to executing BODYARMOR’s 2022 plan and working on vision and strategy for 2023 and beyond.
BODYARMOR will continue to be distributed by the US Coca-Cola bottling system. When Coca-Cola made its initial investment in 2018, BODYARMOR gained access to the Coca-Cola system, which enabled BODYARMOR to accelerate its growth to meet explosive consumer demand for premium sports and hydration beverages. BODYARMOR is currently the #2 sports drink in the category in measured retail channels, growing at about 50% to drive more than $1.4 billion in retail sales.
As part of the agreement, Coca-Cola and Repole will also collaborate on the company’s still beverages portfolio, including marketing, packaging and innovation strategies across multiple brands.
Coca-Cola’s acquisition of BODYARMOR will be funded through cash on-hand and is consistent with an M&A and capital allocation framework that focuses on accelerating growth, expanding capabilities and driving efficiencies. Coca-Cola pursues brands and products that are complementary to the overall portfolio and have growth opportunities for the long term.
