1. In 2019, Coca Cola acquired Costa Coffee.

Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops before expanding into more than 2,400 coffee chain stores across Europe with footprint in China.

a) Using concepts of Mergers & Acquisitions, critically discuss the business strategy behind the acquisition of Costa Coffee by Coca-Cola. Evaluate the pros and cons of this acquisition as well

b) Freely discuss the type of acquisition strategy used by Coca Cola to acquire Costa Coffee. Is this a horizontal or vertical acquisition? If this is a horizontal or vertical acquisition, why is it so? Is this a forward or backward integration? If so, why? Please provide convincing supporting arguments for your choices.

2.

Diversification is way for businesses to reduce or diversify business risks. Diversification can also be done to improve operational or financial synergy of companies.

a) Using concepts from this course, freely discuss the concept of diversification, the types of diversification and the comprehensive model of diversification for a multinational firm of your choice.

b) What are the business implications of culture on diversification of businesses?