The Coca-Cola Company has acquired Bodyarmor, a sports drink producer founded in 2011, for approximately $5.6 billion.This is the largest acquisition in Coca-Cola’s history, overtaking that of the Costa coffee chain in 2018 for $5.1 billion. The soda king has been Bodyarmor’s second-largest shareholder, with a 15 percent stake, since 2018. The late Kobe Bryant, who invested in 2013, ranked third. Bryant’s estate will reportedly be receiving some $400 million from the sale. One of Bodyarmor’s co-founders, Mike Repole, along with its president, Brent Hastie, will be staying aboard to expand market share.Repole will in addition be working with Coke on its still beverages. Bodyarmor, which is said to be Number Two in the market for sports drinks, joins three other companies thata Repole had founded – Vitaminwater, Smartwater and Energy Brands – in Coke’s portfolio. However, the leader in the sports drink category, with 70 percent of the market, remains Gatorade, which is owned by PepsiCo.

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