SodaStream Sale Plan Loses Fizz on Wall Street
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
SodaStream, the Israeli maker of kitchen countertop carbonated drink machines, is trying to sell itself. But the plan is reportedly losing its pop on Wall Street.
CEO Daniel Birnbaum has been seeking a buyer for at least three months, but nothing has bubbled to the surface, the New York Post reported.
“It’s been very low-key,” one source who was approached about a possible sale told the post.
The company, which projects annual revenue will rise from $550 million this year to $1 billion by 2016, became the first Israeli company to advertise during the Super Bowl this year.
SodaStream’s shares have been on a roller-coaster ride rising as high as $77.80. The shares fell 3.4 percent yesterday to close at $65.36.
SodaStream’s sales talk is falling flat at a time when investors and analysts are mixed on its prospects. “I’m still not convinced this will be a permanent fixture in American households,” a source told the post.
Another analyst disagreed, saying that the company was just starting to sell its canisters in grocery and drug stores nationwide.
The company is controversial in some circles because it has a factory in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank. The firm boasts that it provides jobs for Palestinians, but Israel boycott advocates have targeted it for supporting the Israeli occupation.
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