Coca-Cola Company completes £3.9bn swoop for Costa
Drinks giant The Coca-Cola Company has completed its multi-billion pound acquisition of British coffee shop chain Costa.
The deal, completed this morning (January 3), saw the US firm pay out £3.9bn to buy Costa from restaurant and hotel group Whitbread PLC.
It follows approval from the European Commission, which cleared the sale earlier today.
In a statement, the EU executive said: “The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because the companies do not sell the same products and the links between their activities are limited.”
Costa Coffee is headquartered in Dunstable, near Luton Airport.
In the 2017/18 year, the company recorded revenues of over £1.29bn, generated across more than 2,400 UK coffee shops.
Coca-Cola revealed its intention to buy Costa in August last year.
Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →
Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.
Enjoy the read? Get Bdaily delivered.
Sign up to receive our popular morning London email for free.
Taking advantage of the opportunities ahead
Accountability isn’t the enemy of empathy
Act now to avoid a last-minute tax scramble
How inner-city living can transform a city by the sea
Artificial intelligence's value is the time it gives back
Why we must break the magnetic pull of London
AI scepticism is healthy - inaction isn't
What does NPPF mean for planning gain and pricing?
What new NPPF rules mean for landowners
The hidden cost squeezing Britain's economy
Teesside deserves more than cashback devolution
Construction must be built on commercial discipline