Monster Beverage agrees to buy Bang Energy for $362M, pending FTC review

A filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida indicates that subject to the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the HSR Act by June 30, Monster Beverage will pay $362M for substantially all of the assets of Vital Pharmaceuticals, the owner of rival energy drink Bang Energy, plus certain contingent consideration earmarked for the estates that could total an additional $10M and Monster will assume certain of the debtors’ liabilities. The court filing adds: “The Debtors and Monster were prepared to enter into the Monster APA the week of June 19, and seek approval of both the sale and this Settlement Agreement at the hearing scheduled for June 30. However, as noted at the June 22 hearing, just as the parties were preparing to sign the Monster APA, the Federal Trade Commission indicated that it would issue a ‘Second Request’ in connection with its review of the Monster transaction under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, preventing the parties from closing a sale to Monster at least until they could substantially comply with the ‘Second Request’ – a likely months long process… On a parallel path, the Debtors have continued discussions with the FTC, but as of the filing of this Motion, there has been no change in the FTC’s position and the parties still remain subject to the ‘Second Request.’ As a result, the Debtors now find themselves in a challenging and uncertain position. A sale to Monster will clearly maximize the value of the Debtors’ assets, benefitting all creditors.”