According to the Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola has been preparing to purchase complete control of the sports drink company BodyArmor in a $5.6 billion deal.
Coca-Cola already owns a 30% stake in the sports drink conglomerate.
BodyArmor’s founders and investors, as well as a group of elite athletes who have invested in the company, would sell the remaining 70% of the company to Coca-Cola, valuing it at around $8 billion.
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in early 2020 and had invested $6 million in BodyArmor, backed the company when it was founded in 2011.
According to the Journal, Bryant’s estate should receive around $400 million from the sale, citing sources close to the matter.
BodyArmor is a competitor of Gatorade, the industry giant owned by PepsiCo, Coca-primary Cola’s business adversary.
BodyArmor anticipates revenues of $1.4 billion this year, up from $250 billion when Coca-Cola originally invested in the company in 2018.
Coca-Cola has been refining its goods in recent months to focus on its fast-moving beverages, as consumers return to conventional sodas and flavored sparkling waters as the pandemic fades.
