PepsiCo buys Sodastream for $3.2bn
PepsiCo has announced it is buying Sodastream for $3.2bn (£2.5bn).
Israel-based Sodastream makes a machine and refillable cylinders allowing users to make their own carbonated drinks.
The deal gives Pepsi a new way of reaching customers in their homes at a time when its signature sugary drinks are becoming less popular.
It is also the company’s first big acquisition since chief executive Indra Nooyi disclosed she would step down in October after 12 years at the helm.
Under the terms of the deal, PepsiCo will buy all outstanding shares of Sodastream for $144 each.
The takeover has already been approved by directors at both firms.
PepsiCo president Ramon Laguarta, who will succeed Ms Nooyi on 3 October, said in a statement that Sodastream was “highly complementary and incremental” to Pepsi’s business.
He added: “PepsiCo is finding new ways to reach consumers beyond the bottle.”
If regulators approve the deal, it is expected to be finalised by January 2019, subject to a vote by Sodastream shareholders.
Sodastream was originally founded in the UK in 1903 and went through various changes of ownership until it became a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes in 1985.
In 1998, it was bought by Israeli firm Soda-Club, with its UK manufacturing plant in Peterborough closing in 2003.
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