PepsiCo buys Israel’s SodaStream for $3.2 billion

JERUSALEM — Beverage giant PepsiCo on Monday purchased Israel’s fizzy drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion, a boon for a company that has enjoyed a resurgence after being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters in the past.

PepsiCo said it was acquiring all SodaStream’s outstanding shares at $144 per share, a 32 per cent premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price.

Earlier this month, SodaStream reported its strongest results in company history, a 31 per cent year-over-year jump in revenues to $172 million, an 89 per cent leap in operating profit to $32 million and an 82 per cent climb by net profit to $26 million.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi called the companies “an inspired match” since both companies aim to reduce waste and limit their environmental footprint.

“Together, we can advance our shared vision of a healthier, more-sustainable planet,” she said.

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SodaStream produces machines that allow people to make fizzy drinks in their own homes and has positioned itself as a provider of a healthy product in contrast to traditional sugary, carbonated drinks. SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said the move with PepsiCo marked a “validation of our mission to bring healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly beverage solutions to consumers around the world.”

Three years ago, SodaStream shut down its West Bank factory amid international boycott calls and opened a sprawling new factory deep in Israel’s Negev Desert instead. Actress Scarlett Johansson was previously a brand ambassador for the company. She parted ways with the international charity Oxfam because of a dispute over her work with SodaStream.

Monday’s sale looks to inject another big tax payout to Israel following previous the sales of Israeli companies such as the mobile navigation app Waze, which was acquired by Google for about $1 billion, and Mobileye, which produces technology for self-driving cars and was gobbled up by Intel last year for $15 billion.

The Associated Press