Bulletin: Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.'s Strategic Moves In Energy Drinks Will Temporarily Weaken Credit Metrics

This report does not constitute a rating action. CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 25, 2024--S&P Global Ratings said today that Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc.'s (KDP; BBB/Stable/A-2) proposed acquisition of Ghost Lifestyle LLC and Ghost Beverages LLC (collectively, Ghost) will strengthen its modest position in the attractive, albeit decelerating, $23 billion energy category by adding brands that appeal to younger consumers, including in social and on-premise settings. KDP also announced a distribution agreement with Nutrabolt for Bloom ready-to-drink energy products, which have a female-oriented SKU focus. KDP?s energy portfolio will be aligned toward lifestyle occasions (Ghost), performance (C4), and female consumers (Bloom). In addition to improving and diversifying KDP?s portfolio, which skews heavily toward carbonated soft drinks and coffee, the Ghost

...October 25, 2024 This report does not constitute a rating action. CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 25, 2024--S&P Global Ratings said today that Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc.'s (KDP; ###/Stable/A-2) proposed acquisition of Ghost Lifestyle LLC and Ghost Beverages LLC (collectively, Ghost) will strengthen its modest position in the attractive, albeit decelerating, $23 billion energy category by adding brands that appeal to younger consumers, including in social and on-premise settings. KDP also announced a distribution agreement with Nutrabolt for Bloom ready-to-drink energy products, which have a female-oriented SKU focus. KDP's energy portfolio will be aligned toward lifestyle occasions (Ghost), performance (C4), and female consumers (Bloom). In addition to improving and diversifying KDP's portfolio, which skews heavily toward carbonated soft drinks and coffee, the Ghost and Nutrabolt transactions should enhance distribution scale, assuming smooth execution. That said, the transaction comes on...

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