PepsiCo, Inc. has recently announced that it has inked an agreement for the acquisition of a famous energy drink maker, Rockstar Energy Beverages, for $3.85 billion. For the record, Rockstar was founded in 2011 and produces beverages aimed at all those people who have an active lifestyle, like athletes and rock stars. The company produces more than 30 flavored products available at grocery and convenience outlets across more than 30 nations. PepsiCo has had a distribution agreement with Rockstar across North America starting from 2009. Besides Rockstar, the energy portfolio of PepsiCo also involves Mountain Dew’s Kickstart, AMP, and Game Fuel. CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo, Ramon Laguarta commented that PepsiCo has endeavored to be specifically consumer-centric while capitalizing on the steadily increasing demand within the functional beverage space. This strategic acquisition will be helping the company to leverage its capabilities in accelerating the performance of Rockstar as well as unleashing its ability to expand with the already present brands like Mountain Dew. Laguarta further added that over time, the company is expecting to secure its fair share of the highly profitable as well as fast-growing category and creating important partnerships within the energy space. Creator and founder of the first 16oz energy drink in the world, Russ Weiner of Rockstar said that the company has had a strong partnership with PepsiCo for a decade as it looks forward to taking it to the next level. Weiner continued that PepsiCo shares the company’s competitive spirit and is expected to invest in helping the brand grow further. Apparently, PepsiCo has also inked an agreement that will be offering a payment of $0.7 billion associated with future tax benefits related to transactions and can be paid over 15 years. The transaction will be subject to the usual closing conditions that involve regulatory approval and will close by the first half of 2020. Source Credit- https://www.pepsico.com/news/press-release/pepsico-to-acquire-rockstar-expanding-presence-in-fast-growing-energy-category03112020