USA: Dr Pepper Snapple acquires Bai Brands for $1.7 billion

USA: Dr Pepper Snapple acquires Bai Brands for $1.7 billion

Soft drinks giant Dr Pepper Snapple has announced that it is purchasing Bai Brands, a company that manufactures low-calorie coffee-fruit drinks, for $1.7 billion.

The Bai Brands product line includes enhanced water, carbonated flavoured water, coconut water and ready-to-drink teas. With its Bai, Bai Bubbles, Cocofusion and other innovative brands, Bai was positioned for expanding growth in key beverage segments, Dr Pepper Snapple said.

Bai Brands provides a strong platform to incubate and grow better-for-you beverages throughout the non-carbonated and carbonated beverage sectors and is expected to generate approximately $425 million in net sales in 2017, the company added.

Commenting on the move, Dr Pepper Snapple CEO and president Larry Young said: "We're excited to welcome Bai into our family of great brands. In a relatively short time, Bai has carved out a leadership position in the enhanced water category and has now extended that success into other fast-growing and profitable categories".

"Bai has contributed greatly to our allied brand lineup since we began distributing it broadly in 2013”, he added. “Adding it to the broad range of choices and options in our company-owned portfolio is a natural next step. Moving forward, we will empower Bai's management team to continue the breakthrough and disruptive branding and innovation that have revolutionized their categories and work with them to put the brand in front of more consumers in more places".

Source: Dr Pepper Snapple