Coca-Cola in 2019 closed on one of the largest acquisitions in its history.
The Atlanta beverage giant, best known for its carbonated sodas, paid roughly $5 billion for a leading British brand, Costa Coffee. It was part of Coca-Cola’s quest to become a “total beverage company” and offer every kind of drink.
“What we get with Costa is more than just a brand,” Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy said during a 2018 earnings call, shortly after the company said it would buy Costa Coffee. “It’s a platform that will give us the ability to scale within the $500 billion global hot beverage category.”
But six years later, it appears Coca-Cola’s investment has fallen flat. The company is working with investment bank Lazard to explore options for Costa Coffee, including a potential sale, British news organization Sky News first reported.
Quincy said in a July earnings call that Costa Coffee is “not where we wanted it to be from an investment hypothesis point of view” and that the company was “reflecting on what we’ve learned.”