TEL AVIV (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc (>> PepsiCo, Inc.) denied a published report that it was in talks to buy Israel's SodaStream International Ltd (>> Sodastream International Ltd), whose machines make carbonated drinks from tap water.
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc (>> PepsiCo, Inc.) denied a published report that it was in talks to buy Israel's SodaStream International Ltd (>> Sodastream International Ltd), whose machines make carbonated drinks from tap water.
The Calcalist, an Israeli financial newspaper, reported that PepsiCo has made an offer through Goldman Sachs (>> Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.) to buy SodaStream for $2 billion.
A PepsiCo spokesman told Reuters on Thursday that "the rumour is untrue" and reiterated the company's position that it sees no need for large acquisitions.
SodaStream's shares were up 7.7 percent in premarket trading after closing at $69.35 on Wednesday.
Calcalist reported estimates that PepsiCo was willing to go higher than $2 billion and might agree to pay as much as $95 per share.
SodaStream, which also makes flavours, carbon dioxide refills and re-usable bottles, was listed on Nasdaq in 2010 and has a market valuation of $1.4 billion.
Officials at SodaStream were not immediately available for comment.
Calcalist said PepsiCo was interested in SodaStream's potential to expand in the United States after its U.S. sales doubled in 2012.
Calcalist said SodaStream was checking its options for a deal with Coca Cola Co (>> The Coca-Cola Company) before moving into advanced negotiations with PepsiCo.
Global sales at SodaStream, which sells at upscale department stores such as Harrods as well as at budget chains like U.S. group Target Corp (>> Target Corporation), have risen more than three-fold since 2009. The group booked sales of over $436 million last year, with net profit up 18 percent to $44 million.
(Reporting by Tova Cohen, additional reporting by Martinne Geller and Phil Wahba in New York; editing by John Wallace)
PepsiCo, Inc. is one of the worldwide leaders in producing non-alcoholic beverages and snacks. Net sales break down by area of activity as follows:
- North America (60.8%): sale of beverages (49.7% of net sales; sodas, concentrated juices, water, tea and coffee-based beverages; Aquafina, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, Gatorade Zero, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Propel brands, etc.), snacks (44.7%; chips, tortillas and pretzels; Lay's, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Fritos, Ruffles, etc.), and cereals (5.6%; ready-to-eat cereals, rice, wheat, etc.);
- Europe (14.5%): sale of snacks (Cheetos, Chipita, Doritos, Lay's, Ruffles and Walkers brands) and beverages (7UP, Diet Pepsi, Lubimy Sad, Mirinda, Pepsi and Pepsi Max);
- Latin America (12.7%): sales of snacks (Cheetos, Doritos, Emperador, Lay's, Mabel, Marias Gamesa, Ruffles, Sabritas, Saladitas and Tostitos brands) and beverages (7UP, Gatorade, H2oh!, Manzanita Sol, Mirinda, Pepsi, Pepsi Black, San Carlos and Toddy)
- Asia/Pacific/Australia/New Zealand (6.7%): sale of snacks (BaiCaoWei, Cheetos, Doritos, Lay's and Smith's brands), beverages and syrups (7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Sting);
- Africa/Middle East/South Asia (5.3%): sale of snacks (Chipsy, Doritos, Kurkure, Lay's, Sasko, Spekko and White Star brands) and beverages (7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Pepsi).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (57%), Mexico (7.7%), Canada (4.1%), Russia (3.9%), China (3%), the United Kingdom (2.1%), Brazil (1.9%), South Africa (1.9%) and other (18.4%).