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The Coca-Cola Company

BeveragesFounded 1892
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Acquisitions

Coca-Cola Acquisitions

5

Major Deals Covered

$11.2B

Disclosed Deal Value

What are Coca-Cola's biggest acquisitions?

Coca-Cola's largest disclosed acquisition here is BodyArmor for $5.6B in 2021. This page covers 5 major deals from 2013 to 2021, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.

Major deals covered
5
Largest deal
BodyArmor ($5.6B)
First deal
2013
Most recent
2021
CompanyYearPricePurpose
Costa Coffee2019$5.1BCoca-Cola acquired Costa Coffee to enter coffee retail, vending, and ready-to-drink coffee with an established brand rather than building from zero. The deal expanded Coca-Cola into a morning and workplace beverage occasion where carbonated soft drinks have limited natural relevance.
BodyArmor2021$5.6BCoca-Cola acquired full control of BodyArmor to strengthen its position in sports hydration and challenge PepsiCo's Gatorade franchise. The brand brought athlete-backed credibility and a faster-growth category than traditional full-sugar carbonated soft drinks.
Topo Chico2017$220.0MCoca-Cola acquired Topo Chico to enter premium sparkling mineral water with a brand that already had heritage, cultural credibility, and strong regional loyalty. The deal responded to consumer movement toward unsweetened sparkling beverages and premium hydration.
Fairlife2020UndisclosedCoca-Cola acquired the remaining stake in fairlife to build a stronger position in value-added dairy, including high-protein milk and nutrition beverages. The purpose was to diversify into a category driven by protein, filtration, and wellness cues rather than classic refreshment.
Innocent Drinks2013$320.0MCoca-Cola built ownership of Innocent Drinks to gain a stronger position in smoothies, juices, and natural-positioned beverages in Europe. The deal helped Coca-Cola learn from a brand with a more informal, health-oriented identity than its traditional soda portfolio.
What companies has Coca-Cola bought?
Major acquisitions by Coca-Cola documented here include BodyArmor (2021), Costa Coffee (2019), Innocent Drinks (2013), Topo Chico (2017) and Fairlife (2020).
What is Coca-Cola's most recent acquisition?
The most recent Coca-Cola acquisition documented here is BodyArmor, in 2021, for $5.6B.

BodyArmor

2021

$5.6B

Why

Coca-Cola acquired full control of BodyArmor to strengthen its position in sports hydration and challenge PepsiCo's Gatorade franchise. The brand brought athlete-backed credibility and a faster-growth category than traditional full-sugar carbonated soft drinks.

Impact

BodyArmor gave Coca-Cola a stronger second platform in sports drinks and helped broaden the company's functional beverage exposure. The deal also required Coca-Cola to scale the brand without flattening the identity that made it attractive.

Outcome

The acquisition improved Coca-Cola's sports-drink position, but Gatorade remains a powerful incumbent. BodyArmor is useful if Coca-Cola can expand distribution, preserve premium positioning, and avoid treating the brand like a generic line extension.

Source →

Fairlife

2020

Why

Coca-Cola acquired the remaining stake in fairlife to build a stronger position in value-added dairy, including high-protein milk and nutrition beverages. The purpose was to diversify into a category driven by protein, filtration, and wellness cues rather than classic refreshment.

Impact

Fairlife gave Coca-Cola a growth platform with different economics and consumer motivations from soda. It also required more sensitivity to agricultural supply chains, animal-welfare scrutiny, and refrigerated distribution.

Outcome

Fairlife has become an important growth asset in Coca-Cola's non-soda portfolio. The strategic test is whether the company can scale value-added dairy while managing a more complex supply chain and reputational expectations around dairy sourcing.

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Costa Coffee

2019

$5.1B

Why

Coca-Cola acquired Costa Coffee to enter coffee retail, vending, and ready-to-drink coffee with an established brand rather than building from zero. The deal expanded Coca-Cola into a morning and workplace beverage occasion where carbonated soft drinks have limited natural relevance.

Impact

The acquisition gave Coca-Cola a coffee platform across stores, vending, and packaged formats. It also introduced more operational complexity than the company's traditional concentrate model because retail coffee involves service, real estate, labor, and store economics.

Outcome

Costa achieved the strategic goal of giving Coca-Cola a global coffee platform, but its value depends on execution beyond the original retail-store base. The acquisition broadened the portfolio, while leaving investors to judge whether coffee can earn Coke-system returns across large volumes.

Source →

Topo Chico

2017

$220M

Why

Coca-Cola acquired Topo Chico to enter premium sparkling mineral water with a brand that already had heritage, cultural credibility, and strong regional loyalty. The deal responded to consumer movement toward unsweetened sparkling beverages and premium hydration.

Impact

Topo Chico strengthened Coca-Cola's position in sparkling water and gave it a brand with a different personality from mainstream bottled water. It also created opportunities in restaurants, retail, and adult social occasions where consumers wanted bubbles without sugar.

Outcome

The acquisition has largely fit Coca-Cola's premiumization strategy. Its success depends on preserving the brand's mineral-water authenticity while expanding distribution through the Coke system.

Source →

Innocent Drinks

2013

$320M

Why

Coca-Cola built ownership of Innocent Drinks to gain a stronger position in smoothies, juices, and natural-positioned beverages in Europe. The deal helped Coca-Cola learn from a brand with a more informal, health-oriented identity than its traditional soda portfolio.

Impact

Innocent expanded Coca-Cola's credibility in chilled juices and smoothies, though the category faces sugar perception challenges of its own. It also showed Coca-Cola's interest in founder-led brands with distinctive voice and packaging.

Outcome

The acquisition broadened Coca-Cola's European portfolio and gave it a health-adjacent brand with strong consumer recognition. Its strategic value is meaningful but more regional than global compared with Coca-Cola, Sprite, or Costa.

Source →

The Coca-Cola Company's Growth & Acquisition Strategy

Coca-Cola calls itself a 'total beverage company': it keeps trademark Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar at the center while building scale in coffee (Costa), sports hydration (BodyArmor, Powerade), premium water (Smartwater, Topo Chico) and value-added dairy (fairlife). Revenue growth management, meaning pack sizes, price tiers and mini-cans tuned to each market, is the main lever for growth without heavy volume gains. Alcohol-adjacent ready-to-drink products such as Jack Daniel's & Coca-Cola are produced with partners rather than on Coca-Cola's own books. The company also keeps refranchising bottlers: in October 2025 it agreed to sell a 41.52% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to Coca-Cola HBC for about $1.3 billion, a deal targeted to close by the end of 2026. In January 2026 it reportedly dropped a plan to sell Costa Coffee after private-equity bids fell short of its price.

How The Coca-Cola Company Makes Money

Coca-Cola runs a franchise model. The company develops or acquires beverage recipes and runs global marketing, including sponsorships such as the Olympics. It earns revenue by selling concentrate to independent bottling companies around the world, such as Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. The bottlers add water, package the drinks and handle distribution, and pay Coca-Cola for the right to sell its brands.

Coca-Cola Acquisitions FAQ

What was Coca-Cola's acquisition of Costa Coffee in 2019 and how much did it cost?

In January 2019, The Coca-Cola Company completed the acquisition of UK-based Costa Limited from Whitbread PLC for $4.9 billion (3.9 billion GBP) in cash, instantly gaining a global coffee platform with nearly 4,000 retail coffee shops, automated Express kiosks, and roasting facilities.

Why was the acquisition of BodyArmor in 2021 significant for Coca-Cola?

In November 2021, Coca-Cola acquired the remaining 85% stake in sports performance hydration drink BodyArmor for $5.6 billion in cash (having bought a 15% stake in 2018), representing the largest brand acquisition in Coca-Cola's history to compete directly with Gatorade.

What was the acquisition of Fairlife in 2020?

In January 2020, Coca-Cola acquired the remaining 57.5% stake in value-added dairy pioneer Fairlife LLC from joint venture partner Select Milk Producers, establishing full ownership of the fast-growing ultra-filtered milk and Core Power protein shake brand.

What was the acquisition of Topo Chico in 2017?

In October 2017, Coca-Cola acquired historic Mexican sparkling mineral water brand Topo Chico for $220 million, expanding its cult-favorite status across the US into a national premium sparkling water and hard seltzer phenomenon.

What was the acquisition of Energy Brands (Glacéau Vitaminwater and Smartwater) in 2007?

In May 2007, Coca-Cola acquired Energy Brands Inc. (Glacéau) for $4.1 billion in cash, adding multi-billion-dollar premium hydration brands Smartwater and Vitaminwater to its portfolio.

What was the acquisition of Minute Maid in 1960?

In 1960, Coca-Cola completed the acquisition of the Minute Maid Corporation in an all-stock transaction, marking Coca-Cola's very first major beverage diversification outside carbonated soft drinks into orange juice and fruit beverages.

What was Coca-Cola's strategic partnership and equity investment in Monster Beverage?

In June 2015, Coca-Cola completed a strategic partnership with Monster Beverage Corporation, acquiring a 16.7% equity stake for $2.15 billion and transferring Coca-Cola's global energy brands (NOS, Full Throttle) to Monster while becoming Monster's primary global distribution partner.

How does Coca-Cola evaluate and finance strategic beverage brand acquisitions?

Coca-Cola utilizes an 'invest-and-scale' model, acquiring minority stakes in high-potential beverage innovators, providing national bottling distribution, and acquiring 100% control once the brand achieves multi-hundred-million-dollar retail scale.

What companies has Coca-Cola acquired?

To aggressively diversify, Coca-Cola acquired Costa Coffee for $5.1 billion in 2018 (competing directly with Starbucks globally), bought Topo Chico, and acquired the sports drink BodyArmor for $5.6 billion to fight Gatorade.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.