Reports: Coca-Cola May Acquire Honest Tea

It was a big news day for acquisitions. Besides AOL’s that it acquired the Huffington Post, another acquisition – albeit a poential one—made headlines today.

The Washington Post reported that Coca-Cola, an initial investor in the Bethesda-based Honest Tea, may acquire the organic beverage company.

The Federal Trade Commission gave Coca-Cola antitrust approval to buy Honest Tea last month, according to the Post, though any potential deal isn’t yet final.

"When we made the decision to have them invest, the expectation was they would do it with the interest of wanting to acquire," Seth Goldman, Honest Tea “TeaEO,” told the Post. However, "Just because they have the option doesn't mean that they'll take it, or even if they take it, that the deal closes."

Honest Tea is one of Bethesda’s green business success stories, having grown from selling 360,000 bottles a year in 1998 more than 100 million bottles in 2010 in stores across the country, according to a recent article Goldman wrote about the potential acquisition.

In the post, Goldman also points to challenges that arise for a “tiny” company seeking to join a large one.