New Age Beverages Surges Most Since November After Deal With Walmart

(Bloomberg) -- New Age Beverages Corp. jumped the most since early October after the company said its Marley brand drinks will be sold by Walmart Inc.

The natural beverage company is already shipping to Walmart distribution centers and each of the three flavors of Marley Mate will be available at stores this month. The company describes the beverage as “a natural energy drink that has the taste of tea with the uplift of coffee without the crash.”

The pact marks New Age’s first national distribution. The deal comes two years after New Age Beverages agreed to buy the assets of Marley Beverage Co.

New Age Beverages is developing a line of drinks infused with CBD, the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that is said by is proponents to help with everything from arthritis to insomnia. The Food and Drug Administration plans to hold a public hearing on May 31 to discuss safety and marketing for cannabis and cannabis-derived products.

The company said it intends to launch the Marley Mellow Mood + CBD globally in 2019. Walmart has no plans to carry the Marley + CBD item, spokesperson Molly Blakeman said in an email to Bloomberg News.

New Age Beverages shares rallied as much as 40 percent as of 2:51 p.m. in New York on more than six times the daily average trading volume of the past three months. The stock is up 25 percent this year.

Short interest in New Age Beverage is equal to 25 percent of free float according to data analytics firm IHS Markit.

--With assistance from Matthew Boyle and Kristine Owram.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Calderone in New York at gcalderone7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Will Daley, Richard Richtmyer

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