PepsiCo will purchase Rockstar Energy for $3.85 billion in an effort to expand its investment into functional beverages. PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) has had a distribution deal with Rockstar since 2009, but that deal put limits on who PepsiCo could partner with and what energy drinks they could provide.
This acquisition means PepsiCo will now be able to "capitalize on rising demand", according to PepsiCo CEO, Ramon Laguarta. PepsiCo says it does not expect the acquisition to affect its 2020 revenue or earnings per share.
"Over time, we expect to capture our fair share of this fast-growing, highly profitable category and create meaningful new partnerships in the energy space," Laguarta said in a statement.
This deal comes as Americans increasingly are choosing healthier options over soda. Both PepsiCo and its rival Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) have been attempting to develop with consumer preferences by providing energy drinks and other functional beverages. Coca-Cola owns Monster Energy and is releasing its Coca-Cola Energy line this year. PepsiCo's selection of energy drinks includes Mountain Dew-branded Kickstart, AMP, and GameFuel.
"As we work to be more consumer-centric and capitalize on rising demand in the functional beverage space, this highly strategic acquisition will enable us to leverage PepsiCo's capabilities to both accelerate Rockstar's performance and unlock our ability to expand in the category with existing brands such as Mountain Dew," said Laguarta.
The global energy drink market was worth $53 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $86 billion by 2026, according to Allied Market Research. Still, energy drinks are often categorized as sports drinks but are in fact considered a different product.
According to Harvard's The Nutrition Source, energy drinks "are marketed to increase alertness and energy levels, containing significant amounts of caffeine and as much or more sugar as in soda. Many energy drinks pack about 200 mg of caffeine, the amount in two cups of brewed coffee."
Rockstar founder Russ Weiner said that he is excited to expand Rockstar's relationship with PepsiCo: "PepsiCo shares our competitive spirit and will invest in growing our brand even further. I'm proud of what we built and how we've changed the game in the energy space."
The deal hasn't been closed yet but is expected to be approved and finalized by the first half of this year. This will be the first major acquisition PepsiCo has made since it purchased seltzer-maker SodaStream in 2018.