Quaker Oats Buys Snapple For $1.7B On This Day In Market History To Block PepsiCo Takeover

Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened: On Nov. 2, 1994, Quaker Oats Co. announced a $1.7-billion buyout of Snapple Beverage Co.

Where The Market Was: The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded at 3,837.13, and the S&P 500 finished the day at 466.50.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1994, Tonya Harding won the national figure skating championship after rival Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by four men, including Harding’s ex-husband. Netscape Navigator was released, becoming the early market-leading web browser. Average monthly rent was $533.

Quaker’s Desperate Move: In November 1994, Quaker announced a $1.7-billion buyout bid for Snapple in a move aimed at discouraging PepsiCo, Inc. PEP from taking over Quaker. Just two days after the deal was announced, Snapple revealed in a SEC filing it will likely earn no more than 40 cents per share, well below its previous guidance of 55 cents.

Quaker went ahead with the buyout deal anyway in what is considered one of the worst buyouts in corporate history.

Less than three years later, Quaker sold Snapple to Triarc for $300 million, representing a more than 82% loss on its original investment.

To add insult to injury, PepsiCo acquired Quaker Oats anyway in December 2000 at a price of $13.4 billion.

Triarc sold Snapple to Cadbury Schweppes in September 2000 for $1.45 billion. Today, Snapple is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper Inc KDP. Quaker Oats is still owned by PepsiCo.

Photo: Like_the_Grand_Canyon, Flickr.