Coke Eyes Home Soda Market With Increased Keurig Stake

Coca-Cola has raised its stake in coffee brewers Keurig Green Mountain to 16%, as the Atlanta-based drinks behemoth gears up for entry into the home soda market next year.

Coke controls about 26 million shares, according to a regulatory filing. It owns about 19.5 million shares and has the right to buy as much as 6.5 million more, said Coke.

Coke is preparing to partner on the Keurig Cold single-cup beverage brewer, which will appear next year; a concerted effort to wrestle market share away from SodaStream.

The coffee maker will also produce and sell Coca-Cola-branded pods to go with the machine, reported Bloomberg.

Coke picked up a 10% stake in Keurig for $1.25bn in early February and had an option to increase its stake to 16% through open market purchases.

Coca-Cola's has adopted an equity-incubation approach to up-and-coming companies, whereby it builds into useful synergies, increasing its stake holding with a view to eventual acquisition, as was the case with Zico coconut water and Honest Tea.

Keurig, formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, has been growing rapidly and is a likely acquisition target.

Keurig's shares were trading some 6% higher in pre-market trade in New York.