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US soft drinks major Keurig Dr Pepper has struck a deal to acquire the Ghost energy drinks and lifestyle sports nutrition business. 

The Sunkist fruit soda maker is to buy the company in two stages. 

Keurig Dr Pepper plans to purchase a 60% shareholding in Ghost for roughly $990m. 

It will then scoop up the remaining 40% in 2028 “at a pre-negotiated valuation scale” based on Ghost’s financial performance in 2027. 

In December 2022, Keurig Dr Pepper invested $863m for a 30% stake in US energy-drink and recovery-beverage maker Nutrabolt. The “strategic partnership” included a long-term sales and distribution agreement for Nutrabolt’s energy drink brand C4.

Just Drinks analysis: What acquisition of Ghost means for US energy category

Edrington has agreed to sell Scotch whisky brand The Famous Grouse to Glenfiddich owner William Grant & Sons. 

The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, also includes Naked Malt Scotch whisky. 

In a brief statement issued, Edrington said the disposals – through its the 1887 Company subsidiary – are “the next stage of the company’s mission to be the world’s best at crafting exceptional ultra-premium spirit brands”. 

Edrington’s brand portfolio includes the whiskies The Macallan and The Glenrothes, as well as Brugal rum and Wyoming whiskey. William Grant’s range includes Scotch whiskies such as Glenfiddich, Grant’s and The Balvenie. 

A spokesperson said The Famous Grouse “has a rich history and would be a significant addition to our portfolio”.

PepsiCo has made a series of changes to its beverages business in the US. 

The moves cover four production sites in the US states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Chicago and Cincinnati. 

PepsiCo has stopped output at each of the facilities but kept warehousing at the sites in Cincinnati, Harrisburg and Atlanta. 

The drinks giant has not officially revealed the number of employees affected by the moves at each of the sites.

The Associated Press, however, suggests the number of job losses will amount to around 400. 

PepsiCo’s factory on 51st Street in Chicago is slated for closure. The plans to close the site are due to the plant’s “physical limitations”, the Mountain Dew maker said in a statement provided to Just Drinks.

Campari has announced a new “cost containment” plan, which looks to improve margins by 200 basis points. 

The company stressed it would look to “accelerate” the “streamlining” of its product range, “with the view to dispose of non-core brands” to provide more resources to its “core priority brands”. 

As part of Campari’s bid to drive the business forward, the company is setting up more “houses of brands”. It already has one covering Cognac and Champagne and is creating three others: one for aperitifs, one for Tequila and one for rum and whiskey. 

The announcements came alongside a set of Q3 results that missed market expectations. 

Campari, meanwhile, said its search for a new CEO was ongoing. Matteo Fantacchiotti stepped down from his position at the company with immediate effect in September. He had been in the role for five months.

China’s beer market will likely decline again in 2025, Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen has told Just Drinks. 

Beer volumes in China fell around 5% in the first nine months of the year, according to Carlsberg, which reported flat unit sales in the country during the period. 

Speaking to Just Drinks, Aarup-Andersen said Carlsberg was “quite pleased” with its “positive outperformance” but indicated the company expected another year when China’s beer market contracted. 

“Next year, we do expect the market to perform a bit better but we are not expecting the market to go into positive growth,” he said. 

China has tried to boost its economy and consumption with a series of so-called stimulus packages. So far, there has been no impact on spending, Aarup-Andersen said.