Monster Beverage Corp. has struck a deal to buy assets from US energy-drinks rival Bang Energy.
The transaction, outlined today (3 July), would see Monster acquire “substantially all of Bang Energy’s assets”, the companies said in a joint statement.
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Financial terms are yet to be disclosed but the announcement comes four days after Monster’s interest in Bang emerged.
On Thursday, a leaked court document showed Blast Asset Acquisition – a Monster subsidiary – had agreed a deal worth $362m with Bang Energy’s parent Vital Pharmaceuticals.
At the time, neither company commented on reports of the leak. Today, however, Monster and Bang Energy provided details of a deal that remains subject to the approval of the US Bankruptcy Court.
Vital Pharmaceuticals filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in October after losing a $293m false advertising lawsuit against Monster. The Canarchy brand owner was VPX’s largest unsecured creditor.
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By GlobalData“Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions, Monster will acquire Bang Energy’s performance beverages and related Bang Energy businesses through the purchase of substantially all of Bang Energy’s assets,” today’s statement read.
The assets include a beverage production facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
The statement added: “While Monster is hopeful that the transaction will be completed, there is no guarantee that it will receive Bankruptcy Court approval.”
Bang Energy’s struggles date back to the company’s split from distributor PepsiCo in acrimonious circumstances in 2020. The company’s outspoken CEO Jack Owoc later accused the Gatorade brand owner of “engaging in a premeditated plan to destroy” the energy drink.
Owoc said the reason for Bang Energy’s poor performance while it was distributed by PepsiCo was because the CSD giant was not committed to the brand. He believed the Rockstar brand owner’s reluctance to take a stake in the business was because it ultimately wished to destroy Bang Energy.
Owoc was himself later ousted as CEO of the company, and forced to delete comments made on social media posts by the Bang Energy brand.
