Coca-Cola to Acquire Minority Stake in
BODYARMOR with Path to Ownership Under Defined Terms
BODYARMOR to Gain Access to U.S. Coca-Cola
Bottling System with Future Potential for Global Expansion
Agreement Creates Value for Both Companies
in the Fast-Growing Sports Performance and Premium Hydration
Categories
The Coca-Cola Company and BODYARMOR today announced that they
have entered into a definitive agreement through which Coca-Cola
will acquire a minority ownership stake in BODYARMOR. Through the
agreement, BODYARMOR will have the opportunity to gain access to
the expansive Coca-Cola bottling system, enabling the fast-growing
brand to accelerate its growth to meet explosive consumer demand
for its premium line of sports performance and hydration
drinks.
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the full release here:
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The fast-growing BODYARMOR trademark
includes BODYARMOR Sports Drink, BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink and
BODYARMOR SportWater. (Photo: Business Wire)
The initial investment is uniquely structured to create value
for both companies and allow Coca-Cola to increase its ownership
stake in the future under defined terms. Financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
The BODYARMOR investment will be part of the Coca-Cola North
America Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) investment portfolio.
The brand will continue to operate independently with the same
entrepreneurial spirit that has made it so successful under the
leadership of Co-Founder and Chairman Mike Repole and his BODYARMOR
management team.
“In a fast-moving and dynamic industry, and during a time of
unprecedented change at Coca-Cola, we’re challenging the status quo
and bringing innovative, boundary-less thinking to our strategic
relationships to ensure we are offering the products consumers
want,” said Coca-Cola North America President Jim Dinkins.
“BODYARMOR is one of the fastest growing beverage trademarks in
America and competes in exciting categories. I have no doubt it
will prove to be a strong offering to our system alongside our
already powerful hydration portfolio as we accelerate our position
as a total beverage company.”
Said Mike Repole: “BODYARMOR is revolutionizing the beverage
industry by providing the hydration that more and more of today’s
athletes want and need. We are confident that this agreement gives
us the best opportunity to significantly accelerate our mission to
make BODYARMOR the world’s best premium sports performance and
hydration brand. This is thanks to the strength and scale of
Coca-Cola’s newly refranchised and energized bottling system in
North America, as well as longer-term opportunities for
international growth.”
The fast-growing BODYARMOR trademark includes BODYARMOR Sports
Drink, BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink and BODYARMOR SportWater.
Created by co-founders Mike Repole and Lance
Collins, BODYARMOR Sports Drink is available in 12 great-tasting
flavors and is favored by many athletes, having assembled an
impressive team of young, superstar athletes such as James
Harden, Mike Trout, Dustin Johnson, Andrew Luck and Skylar
Diggins-Smith, to name a few. In 2013, Kobe Bryant became the No. 3
shareholder in the company and has been an integral part of the
success of the brand with his involvement in creative, marketing
and partnerships. Bryant will continue to be heavily involved in
the brand, especially as BODYARMOR expands to global markets in the
future.
BODYARMOR contains no artificial colors or flavors and is made
with potassium and other electrolytes, vitamins and coconut water.
In 2017, BODYARMOR launched BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink, which has
all the nutrients of BODYARMOR but is naturally sweetened and has
only 20 calories and 3 grams of sugar per serving. In 2018,
BODYARMOR SportWater – a premium water designed by athletes for
athletes, with a performance pH 8+ and electrolytes for sport –
became available.
Repole has had success co-founding and incubating other brands
including smartwater and vitaminwater, which joined the Coca-Cola
portfolio in 2007, and have since become billion-dollar brands with
global availability.
"I am extremely excited about this agreement because the
Coca-Cola system has an amazing track record of growing explosive
brands that consumers love and allowing entrepreneurial start-ups
like BODYARMOR to continue to be independent and focused on
achieving the aggressive growth goals that we set out to achieve
when we launched this amazing brand in 2011," Repole said.
Through the transaction, The Coca-Cola Company will become the
second largest shareowner in BODYARMOR, behind Co-founder and
Chairman Mike Repole.
About The Coca-Cola
Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company,
offering over 500 brands in more than 200 countries and
territories. In addition to the company’s Coca-Cola brands, our
portfolio includes some of the world’s most valuable beverage
brands, such as AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani
waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold
Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, innocent smoothies and juices,
Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices,
smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater and ZICO coconut water. We’re
constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our
drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We’re also
working to reduce our environmental impact by replenishing water
and promoting recycling. With our bottling partners, we employ more
than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local
communities worldwide. Learn more at Coca-Cola Journey at
www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
About BODYARMOR
BODYARMOR SuperDrink® is a premium sports drink that
contains no artificial colors or flavors and is packed with
potassium and other electrolytes, vitamins and coconut water.
Created by co-founders Mike Repole and Lance
Collins, BODYARMOR Sports Drink is available in 12 great-tasting
flavors and is the drink of choice for athletes, having assembled
an impressive team of young, superstar athletes such as James
Harden, Mike Trout, Dustin Johnson, Andrew Luck and Skylar
Diggins-Smith, to name a few. In 2013, Kobe Bryant became the #3
shareholder in the company. BODYARMOR also recently introduced
BODYARMOR LYTE Sports Drink, which has all the nutrients as
BODYARMOR but is naturally sweetened and has only 20 calories and 3
grams of sugar per serving; and BODYARMOR SportWater, a premium
sport water designed by athletes, for athletes with a performance
pH 8+ and electrolytes for sport. For more information please
visit www.drinkbodyarmor.com and follow us at
@drinkbodyarmor.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release may contain statements, estimates or
projections that constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined
under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,”
“expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will” and
similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which
generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from The Coca-Cola Company’s
historical experience and our present expectations or projections.
These risks include, but are not limited to, obesity and other
health-related concerns; water scarcity and poor quality; evolving
consumer preferences; increased competition; product safety and
quality concerns; perceived negative health consequences of certain
ingredients, such as non-nutritive sweeteners and
biotechnology-derived substances, and of other substances present
in our beverage products or packaging materials; an inability to be
successful in our innovation activities; increased demand for food
products and decreased agricultural productivity; an inability to
protect our information systems against service interruption,
misappropriation of data or breaches of security; changes in the
retail landscape or the loss of key retail or foodservice
customers; an inability to expand operations in emerging and
developing markets; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange
rates; interest rate increases; an inability to maintain good
relationships with our bottling partners; a deterioration in our
bottling partners' financial condition; increases in income tax
rates, changes in income tax laws or unfavorable resolution of tax
matters; increased or new indirect taxes in the United States and
throughout the world; failure to realize the economic benefits from
or an inability to successfully manage the possible negative
consequences of our productivity initiatives; inability to attract
or retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce; increased cost,
disruption of supply or shortage of energy or fuels; increased
cost, disruption of supply or shortage of ingredients, other raw
materials, packaging materials, aluminum cans and other containers;
changes in laws and regulations relating to beverage containers and
packaging; significant additional labeling or warning requirements
or limitations on the marketing or sale of our products;
unfavorable general economic conditions in the United States;
unfavorable economic and political conditions in international
markets; litigation or legal proceedings; failure to adequately
protect, or disputes relating to, trademarks, formulae and other
intellectual property rights; adverse weather conditions; climate
change; damage to our brand image or corporate reputation from
negative publicity, even if unwarranted, related to product safety
or quality, human and workplace rights, obesity or other issues;
changes in, or failure to comply with, the laws and regulations
applicable to our products or our business operations; changes in
accounting standards; an inability to achieve our overall long-term
growth objectives; deterioration of global credit market
conditions; default by or failure of one or more of our
counterparty financial institutions; an inability to renew
collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms, or we or
our bottling partners experience strikes, work stoppages or labor
unrest; future impairment charges; multi-employer pension plan
withdrawal liabilities in the future; an inability to successfully
integrate and manage our Company-owned or -controlled bottling
operations or other acquired businesses or brands; an inability to
successfully manage our refranchising activities; failure to
realize a significant portion of the anticipated benefits of our
strategic relationship with Monster; global or regional
catastrophic events; and other risks discussed in our Company’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2017 and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q, which filings are available from the SEC. You should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date they are made. The Coca-Cola Company undertakes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180814005279/en/
Media Contacts:Coca-Cola North AmericaKent Landers, +01
404-676-2683press@coca-cola.comorBODYARMORLindsey Raivich, +01
718-357-7402 X. 235lraivich@drinkbodyarmor.comorInvestors and
Analysts:Coca-Cola Investor RelationsTim Leveridge, +01
404-676-7563
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