(Reuters) - Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Co is nearing a deal to buy a controlling stake in sports drink maker BodyArmor, valuing it at about $8 billion, Bloomberg News reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-28/coca-cola-is-said-to-near-deal-valuing-bodyarmor-at-8-billion?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google&sref=I5jUJbND on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The deal could be finalized in coming weeks, the report said.
Coca-Cola said it does not comment on rumors or speculation, while BodyArmor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coca-Cola bought a minority stake in BodyArmor in 2018, becoming the brand's second largest shareholder.
The late basketball player Kobe Bryant was one of BodyArmor's earliest investors https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bodyarmor-investment-coca-cola-idUSKBN1KZ166, buying a stake in 2013, just two years after it was launched.
Coca-Cola has been streamlining its products in recent months to focus on its fast-moving beverages as consumers pick up more of its traditional sodas and flavoured sparkling waters as they come out of the pandemic.
The beverage giant discontinued its own Coca-Cola Energy drink in North America in May, but retained its majority stake in Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST), one of the top energy drink makers in the United States.
In 2018, it bought coffee chain Costa https://www.reuters.com/article/us-whitbread-m-a-coca-cola-idUSKCN1LG0LG for $5.1 billion, marking both a push into the booming coffee market and its first foray into operating a retail chain.