The Coca-Cola Company has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Costa Limited from Whitbread PLC.
The acquisition was first announced on 31 August 2018.
The $4.9 billion (€4.3 billion) transaction has been approved by regulatory authorities in the European Union and China.
Completion of the sale is now expected to occur this month.
'Great Opportunities'
“We see great opportunities for value creation through the combination of Costa’s capabilities and Coca-Cola’s marketing expertise and global reach,” said James Quincey, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“Our vision is to use the strong Costa platform to expand our portfolio in the growing coffee category.”
The soft drinks giant said that Costa has a scalable platform across multiple formats and channels, from the existing Costa Express vending system to opportunities to introduce ready-to-drink products.
Alison Brittain, Whitbread Chief Executive, said that as Costa has grown to become a leading international brand, Coca-Cola is the right partner to take it to the next stage.
The coffee chain operates in over 30 countries and will help Coca-Cola take a significant step into the coffee business, with Costa being the biggest coffee chain behind Starbucks.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
