KEY POINTS
  • Coca-Cola announced Monday it has bought full control of sports drink maker Bodyarmor for $5.6 billion, making it the company's largest brand acquisition to date.
  • Owning Bodyarmor helps Coke gain market share in the sports drink category, although PepsiCo's Gatorade is far and away the market leader with roughly 70% market share.
  • Coke bought a 15% stake in Bodyarmor in 2018, becoming its second-largest shareholder.

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Ford, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 28, 2021 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Coca-Cola announced Monday it has bought full control of sports drink maker Bodyarmor for $5.6 billion, making it the company's largest brand acquisition to date.

The beverage giant bought a 15% stake in Bodyarmor in 2018, becoming its second-largest shareholder. At the time, basketball legend Kobe Bryant was its third-largest shareholder after investing in Bodyarmor in 2013, just two years after its founding. The estate of the late NBA star will receive roughly $400 million from the sale, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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