MILAN – KKR & Co. is back in the running to acquire Costa Coffee, confirming its thirst for coffee. The New York-based investment firm, together with Apollo Global Management, recently signed two major strategic investment agreements totalling US$7 with Keurig Dr Pepper to support the latter’s acquisition of coffee giant Jde Peet’s and and the subsequent planned separation into two independent companies..
In August 2025, KKR was reportedly in the process of bidding to buy Costa Coffee from Coca-Cola, but appeared to drop out of the running around that time.
Coca-Cola acquired Costa from Whitbread in 2019 for US$5 billion and now wants to sell it, disappointed by its lower-than-expected results.
According to a Sky News report, KKR is once again interested in the acquisition and is among several potential buyers in preliminary talks with Coca-Cola and its advisers at Lazard.
KKR’s renewed appetite for Costa could intensify competition for the asset, which has attracted interest from investment funds and international strategic buyers. Costa Coffee is the world’s second-largest coffee chain after Starbucks.
Neither Coca-Cola nor KKR commented on the news. According to the report, the number of potential buyers who have expressed interest in the chain and their importance confirms strong investor appetite for consumer brands with global scale and loyal customer bases, even amid a challenging retail environment.
in July 2025, Coca-Cola chief executive James Quincey told investors that the US beverage company was “reflecting” on Costa after conceding its investment “is not where we wanted it to be” following lower-than-expected returns.
Quincey recently said coffee remains a “super attractive” category for the group, but that it expected “much more growth” in the non-retail side of Costa business.
Coffee futures prices consolidated yesterday following Monday’s sharp declines.
On Tuesday 28 October, the ICE Arabica contract for December delivery closed down 0.6% at 387.90 cents, the lowest price seen in two weeks. Meanwhile, in London, the contract for January delivery increased by $15, closing at $4,465.
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