Coca-Cola is buying a minority ownership stake in sports drink maker BodyArmor, for an undisclosed amount, marking the latest move by the world’s biggest beverage maker to diversify its offerings.
The Atlanta company said Tuesday the deal will allow it to increase its stake in BodyArmor. BodyArmor will get access to Coca-Cola’s bottling system, which the companies say could increase distribution. Coca-Cola also makes the sports drink Powerade, while rival PepsiCo Inc. makes the more popular Gatorade.
Coca-Cola has been investing in newer drinks to become what CEO James Quincey calls a “total beverage” company as Americans move away from traditional sodas. Its investments in recent years have included milk that is strained to have more protein and a push behind sparkling water.
Icahn ends Cigna-Express Scripts Campaign, Shares Bounce
Shares of Express Scripts are moving higher before the opening bell after activist investor Carl Icahn ended a short-lived fight to scuttle Cigna’s takeover of the pharmacy benefit manager.
Icahn said late Monday that he’ll end his campaign to convince Cigna shareholders to vote against the roughly $52-billion deal this month. He noted that two prominent shareholder advisory firms support it and that there is significant stockholder overlap between the companies.
Icahn argued in a lengthy letter to fellow shareholders last week that Cigna was “dramatically overpaying” for Express Scripts. He says he holds stakes in each company.
Institutional Shareholder Services, as well as Glass Lewis & Co., came out in support of the deal.
Express Script shares climbed nearly 2 percent to $85.50 before markets opened Tuesday.
Maduro: Gas Prices to Spike in Venezuela to Fight Smugglers
President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that some of the world’s cheapest gasoline that Venezuelan drivers enjoy will soon be sold at world market prices to combat rampant smuggling.
Maduro said he wants to stop Venezuela’s subsidized fuel from crossing illegally into Colombia and other neighboring countries. He said the smuggling costs Venezuela billions.
It’s part of Maduro’s plan to overhaul an imploding economy, in which inflation is expected to top 1 million percent this year.
Filling up a tank of gas in socialist Venezuela today costs less than one U.S. cent.
Maduro says Venezuelans showing their government-issued identification card at the pump will still be able to buy subsidized gasoline. He gave few other details of the planned changes.
Many Venezuelans who oppose Maduro’s government refuse the identification card.
US Bill Rates Flat to Higher; 3-Month Highest Since 2008
Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were unchanged to higher in Monday’s auction, with three-month bills remaining at their highest level in more than a decade.
The Treasury Department auctioned $51 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.030 percent, up from 2.010 percent last week. Another $45 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 2.180 percent, unchanged from last week.
The three-month rate was the highest since those bills averaged 2.050 percent on June 16, 2008, before the financial crisis that struck in the fall of that year. The steady six-month rate hadn’t been that high since those bills averaged 2.255 percent on June 23, 2008.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,959.68 while a six-month bill sold for $9,900.88. That would equal an annualized rate of 2.069 percent for the three-month bills and 2.235 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, stood at 2.42 percent on Friday, down from 2.44 percent at the beginning of last week on Aug. 6.
Emerson Electric President to Retire Oct. 1
Edward Monser, who has been president for eight years at Emerson Electric, will retire on Oct. 1.
The technology and engineering company announced Monser’s retirement Tuesday and said his replacement will be Michael Train, who has worked for Emerson since 1991, leading its Automation Solutions business since 2016.
Monser joined an Emerson subsidiary in 1981. He served as chief operating officer from 2001 to 2015.
Emerson, based in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, operates two main business units, one selling automation solutions to industrial customers, the other selling commercial and consumer products such as sensors and air-conditioning components.
The company has 80,000 employees and 200 manufacturing locations worldwide.
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