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[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [BUSINESS]

3 clusters · 8 sources · 10 days · First seen · Last updated

Coca-Cola potential divestment of Costa Coffee

Overview

Coca-Cola has been considering the potential sale of Costa Coffee, a British coffee chain it acquired in 2018 for approximately $5.1 billion. While reports indicate the company is seriously discussing divestment, previous attempts to sell the brand to private equity bidders failed to meet expectations, leading Coca-Cola to scrap those plans in January.

Following the decision not to sell, Costa Coffee reported a financial recovery in 2025, returning to an operating profit of £20m after a £13.5m loss in 2024. The company attributed this turnaround to investments in branch refurbishments and product innovations. Despite this recovery, the company is currently slowing its expansion in the competitive UK market.

As of October 2026, Coca-Cola is reportedly revisiting plans to divest the chain. This reconsideration follows the earlier suspension of divestment processes after bids from private equity firms and a potential strategic buyer failed to meet valuation expectations or strategic alignment requirements. The beverage giant is currently evaluating various options, including renewed interest from both strategic investors and private equity funds. While Coca-Cola has not officially confirmed these new sale plans, the company continues to focus on its core refreshment business, including upcoming product launches scheduled for 2027.

Entities

Costa Coffee · Coca-Cola · Boyner · Greggs · Whitbread

Timeline

  1. [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Coca-Cola considers renewed sale of Costa Coffee

    Coca-Cola is reportedly exploring a renewed effort to sell Costa Coffee after a previous attempt to divest the chain failed to attract sufficient offers.

  2. [BUSINESS] 4 sources
    Coca-Cola reconsiders sale of Costa Coffee

    Coca-Cola is reconsidering the sale of Costa Coffee after previous divestment attempts failed to secure offers meeting its $5.1 billion valuation expectations.

  3. [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Costa Coffee returns to profit following scrapped Coca-Cola sale

    Costa Coffee returned to an operating profit of £20m in 2025, driven by store refurbishments and product innovation after Coca-Cola abandoned plans to sell the chain.

Sources

ad-hoc-news.de · agronfoodprocessing.com · bursatv.com.tr · checkout.ie · cityam.com · finans.mynet.com · upreg.fr · world-today-news.com

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history