BDS Fail: PepsiCo Buys SodaStream for $3.2 Billion

TEL AVIV — PepsiCo bought carbonated drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion on Monday, a move that the Israeli company’s CEO hailed as a victory over the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), which long targeted the company.

SodaStream, which produces machines that allow people to make carbonated drinks in their own homes, has targeted traditional beverage giants such as PepsiCo for endorsing the waste associated with plastic bottles. The BDS movement heavily criticized the company for its factory in the West Bank. The backlash led the company to relocate the factory outside the West Bank in 2014, resulting in dozens of Palestinian employees being laid off.

“Who is BDS?” SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum quipped during an interview with Channel 10 news after the sale was announced.

“I think they have learned not to meddle with us. Look at what happened to SodaStream that they targeted, and what has happened to them,” he said.

Birnbaum also said the sale marked a “validation of our mission to bring healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly beverage solutions to consumers around the world.”

Outgoing PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said the deal was “an inspired match” since both companies are looking to reduce waste.

Earlier this month, SodaStream reported a 31% year-over-year jump in revenues to $172 million, an 89% increase in profit to $32 million and an 82% jump in net profit to $26 million — marking the strongest results in the company’s history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that the deal would “enrich the state’s coffers.”

“The recent large purchases of Israeli companies prove not only the technological capabilities but also the business capabilities that have developed in Israel,” he wrote.