The Scoop
Coca-Cola is seeking to unwind its $5 billion acquisition of a British coffeehouse, months after a sales process faltered earlier this year.
The American beverage conglomerate is once again exploring a sale of Costa Coffee, according to people familiar with the matter. Coca-Cola acquired Costa for $5.1 billion in 2018, but has struggled to grow the business meaningfully. It explored selling Costa in late 2025, before calling off the sales process earlier this year after a tepid response from private-equity bidders, the Financial Times reported in January.
At least one strategic acquirer mulled what a deal for Costa would look like before passing due to valuation and strategic issues, one of the people said. It couldn’t be determined what price Coca-Cola might seek for the asset were it to market it more actively again. Coca-Cola’s on-again, off-again efforts to sell Costa mean it might again choose to wait.
Coca-Cola did not return a request for comment.
Know More
Costa Coffee has 2,700 outlets in the UK and Ireland and employs 20,000 people. The coffee chain is targeting younger consumers by adding more iced drinks and matcha to its menus.
Coca-Cola bought Costa from British hospitality company Whitbread. The business lost nearly £20 million in 2023 and 2024 combined.
Costa reopened a number of its revamped high street outlets in early 2026, around the same time as Coca-Cola reportedly abandoned its plans to sell the chain.
Costa’s chief executive Philippe Schillee told the Guardian that the company’s new Hertfordshire headquarters, which will open in January 2027 with capacity for 300 workers, “really signals our confidence in the business.”