(Adds Coke statement, company background)
By Martinne Geller
April 30 (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co said it is not in
talks to acquire Monster Beverage Corp, disputing a
Wall Street Journal article on Monday that said it was in
discussions to buy the energy drink maker.
Monster shares closed down less than 1 percent, after
rising as much as 28 percent to an all-time high after the
Journal report.
In a statement, the world’s largest soft drink maker said it
has a distribution relationship with Monster and that it is
always trying to “maximize the value” of those arrangements.
“At this time, we are not in discussions to acquire the
Monster Beverage Corp. We continue to review the best ways to
maximize the value of our relationship,” Coke said in a
statement.
A Monster spokeswoman said it is the company’s policy not to
comment on rumors.
Coke and Monster had held talks last year that did not
result in a transaction, according to two sources familiar with
the situation.
The Wall Street Journal said Monster revived efforts to sell
itself recently and that Coca-Cola decided to take a serious
look and conduct due diligence.
(Reporting By Martinne Geller, Michael Erman and Soyoung Kim in
New York and Mihir Dalal in Bangalore; Editing by Phil Berlowitz
and Bob Burgdorfer)
