Coca-Cola took a moment on Monday to shoot down rumors that the beverage maker was in talks to purchase energy drink maker Monster Beverage Corp for nearly $11 billion.
Coke issued the response after a story broke at the Wall Street Journal in which Coca-Cola would fully acquire Monster Energy Drink and its Java Monster brand.
In 2011 Coke and Monster did enter into talks but those negotiations didn’t lead to any results.
In the meantime the Coca Cola acquisition story at the WSJ sent Monster Energy stocks shooting up by 28 percent to $83.96, an all-time high for the company’s shares. After Coca Cola announced that the rumor was not true Monster stock closed down 1 percent.
In a company statement Coke revealed:
“At this time, we are not in discussions to acquire the Monster Beverage Corp. We continue to review the best ways to maximize the value of our relationship.”
If the Coke/Monster acquisition ever occurs it could allow Coca Cola to put a stronger hold on much of the energy market, Coke already owns the popular Full Throttle lineup.
In the meantime rumors have led analysts to begin predicting the buyout value of Monster which appears to be in the $84 to $100 range for a valuation of $14.6 billion to $17.4 billion.
Coke would be a natural fit for the Monster product lineup since the company already handles distribution for many US market areas and some of the company’s international markets. Also distributing Monster drinks is Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Do you think Monster Energy Drink would thrive or fail at Coca -Cola?
