Coca-Cola Co. agreed to buy U.K. coffee-shop leader Costa for 3.9 billion pounds ($5.1 billion) in its biggest acquisition in eight years, pushing the soda pioneer into the fiercely competitive java market. Whitbread Plc agreed to sell Costa Coffee Ltd., which operates more than 3,800 stores in 32 countries, rather than go ahead with a plan announced in April to spin it off as an independent company. Whitbread shares soared the most in 19 years as analysts said the business fetched a surprisingly high price. Coke’s annual sales have been in decline since 2012. The Atlanta-based company is entering the coffee-shop market to make up for waning soft-drink demand, even as competitors such as Starbucks Corp. and JAB have already cornered many key locations. “Hot beverages is one of the few remaining segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand,” Chief Executive Officer James Quincey said in the statement. Makers of soft drinks are branching out as consumers seek alternatives to sugary sodas. Earlier this month, PepsiCo Inc. agreed to pay $3.2 billion for SodaStream Ltd., which makes carbonated-water dispensers. The Costa purchase is Coca-Cola’s biggest push into operating stores, just as weak consumption in the U.K. leads a series of retailers such as BHS out of business. Shares Leap Whitbread shares rose as much as 19 percent. Whitbread said in April that it would spin off Costa as an independent publicly traded company, turning its focus to its Premier Inn hotel operations under pressure from activist investors. Coca-Cola’s first overture came in June, Whitbread CEO Alison Brittain said on a call with journalists. “It’s been a very fast transaction,” she said. The spinoff would have taken as long as two years, the company had said. The sale will yield a “substantial premium” to the value that would have been created through a spinoff, Whitbread said, adding it will return most of the proceeds to its shareholders. Whitbread bought Costa in 1995 for 19 million pounds. At the time, it had 39 shops. Source: bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-31/coca-cola-to-buy-u-k-s-costa-coffee-chain-for-5-1-billion