Less than 24 hours after reports began circulating of a potential deal, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is distancing itself from a proposed acquisition of Bang Energy.
Citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” Bloomberg reported yesterday that early talks regarding a sale between the two parties were in early stages and that Bang was valued between $2 to $3 billion or more. However, today, the publication said the deal fell apart after news of the discussions went public.
A KDP spokesperson confirmed to BevNET in a statement that the company is not currently seeking to acquire Bang
“As we have shared numerous times, our top capital allocation priority is growing our business through M&A and brand/distribution partnerships and, as such, you should expect that we are quite active and look at a lot of the deals that arise. As it relates to the speculation yesterday on our interest in Bang Energy, we are currently not pursuing an acquisition of the business.
Bloomberg noted that multiple analysts had negative views of the deal, including Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s Kevin Grundy who suggested that PepsiCo’s difficulties turning around Rockstar could prove to be a similar challenge for KDP and Bang. A Stifel Financial Corp. report noted that KDP has historically struggled in the energy drink category and “Bang would have lost meaningful distribution points under new ownership.”