The Coca-Cola Company today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Costa Limited, which was founded in London in 1971 and has grown to become a major coffee brand across the world. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

The acquisition of Costa from parent company Whitbread PLC  – the UK’s largest operator of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops – is valued at USD 5.1 billion and will give Coca-Cola a strong coffee platform across parts of Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, with the opportunity for additional expansion.

Costa operations include a leading brand, nearly 4,000 retail outlets with highly trained baristas, a coffee vending operation, for-home coffee formats and Costa’s roastery.

For Coca-Cola, the expected acquisition adds a scalable coffee platform with critical know-how and expertise in a fast-growing, on-trend category.

The acquisition will expand the existing Coca-Cola coffee lineup by adding another leading brand and platform. The portfolio already includes the market-leading Georgia brand in Japan, plus coffee products in many other countries.

Costa also provides Coca-Cola with strong expertise across the coffee supply chain, including sourcing, vending and distribution. This will be a complement to existing capabilities within the Coca-Cola system.

“Costa gives Coca-Cola new capabilities and expertise in coffee, and our system can create opportunities to grow the Costa brand worldwide,” said Coca-Cola President and CEO James Quincey. “Hot beverages is one of the few segments of the total beverage landscape where Coca-Cola does not have a global brand. Costa gives us access to this market with a strong coffee platform.”

“The Costa team and I are extremely excited to be joining The Coca-Cola Company,” said Costa Managing Director, Dominic Paul. “Costa is a fantastic business with committed and passionate associates, a great track record and enormous global potential. Being part of the Coca-Cola system will enable us to grow the business farther and faster. I would like to say a huge thank you to our customers and to everyone in the Costa team who have helped us build the business to this position, and I look forward to the next exciting chapter in Costa’s vision of Inspiring the World to Love Great Coffee.”

For Whitbread, the sale of the coffee chain will allow it to focus on its Premier Inn hotels business.

“Premier Inn, the UK’s leading hotel business, will continue to develop its highly successful and unique business model, with even greater focus and financial investment. Premier Inn will continue to take advantage of the considerable structural growth opportunities in the UK and accelerate its network expansion in Germany. This will deliver strong return on capital and significant value to shareholders over the long term,” said Alison Brittain, Whitbread Chief Executive.