Aug 31, 2018

Coca-cola to buy U.K. coffee chain Costa for $5.1 billion

Haley Britzky

Photo: NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Coca-cola is moving to diversify with a purchase of major British coffee chain Costa for $5.1 billion, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The big picture: The purchase will "give [Coca-cola] a strong position in coffee" around the world as Costsa has about 4,000 stores across 32 countries. The deal, which is expected to be finalized in 2019, is the latest signal that soda companies are looking to branch out from sugary drinks.

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