The Coca-Cola Company has reportedly received a bid from a subsidiary of Bain Capital for its cafe chain Costa Coffee.
Bain Capital’s Special Situations unit has submitted a first-round bid for the UK-based coffee chain, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Special Situations has invested in British bakery and cafe chain Gail’s and restaurant chain PizzaExpress.
Aside from Bain, the deal has also attracted interest from private equity firm TDR Capital, the news agency added.
Founded in London in 1971 by the Bruno and Sergio Costa brothers, Costa Coffee began as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee.
The business was acquired by Whitbread in 1995 and then sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2018 for £3.9 billion, equal to approximately $5.1 billion at the time. It is now present in 50 countries, with over 2700 stores in the UK and Ireland and more than 1300 locations in other global markets.
According to the Financial Times, Costa has struggled to deal with rising costs and subdued consumer spending since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The chain reported an annual loss of £13.8 million and revenues of £1.2 billion in 2023.
In July, Bain Capital acquired restaurant franchise growth platform Sizzling Platter, which operates Little Caesars, Wingstop and Dunkin’, among others.
