Coca-Cola’s Monster deal turns founders into billionaires
Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg wanted to get into the packaging business. Frustrated in their attempt to find a company to buy, the partners took a tip from an investment banker and purchased a debt-laden soda maker in 1992 for $US13.7 million.
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Two decades and a whole lot of caffeine later, the partners have emerged as billionaires as their company, Monster Beverage, agreed to sell a 17 per cent stake to Coca-Cola for $US2.15 billion ($2.3 billion), sending its shares as high as $US97.48 in New York trading.
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The deal gives Coca-Cola greater exposure to the energy drinks market, one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry having doubled in sales since 2007. The carbonated soft drinks category, which includes brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Fanta, expanded just 0.3 per cent last year.
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While the global drinks giant has helped distribute Monster in the US and Canada since 2008 and owns smaller brands such as Full Throttle, Burn and Mother, it doesn’t have its own major energy drink. Sydney Morning Herald – Read more…
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