People familiar with the matter say that the talks with Vital Pharmaceuticals have fallen apart.
The people asked not to be identified because the matter is private, said that early-stage talks between the companies were active this week but broke off after the deal became public.
A representative for Keurig Dr Pepper said in an email that the company isn't pursuing an acquisition at the moment.
Our top capital allocation priority is growing our business through M&A and brand/distribution partnerships and we continue to be active in evaluating opportunities that arise.
A representative for VPX didn't respond to a request for comment.
A tie-up between the two companies would have made sense.
Jack Owoc founded VPX in 1993 with a focus on research.
JAB Holding Co., an investment firm with a market cap of about $57 billion, formed a company called Keurig Dr Pepper after the merger of Dr Pepper and Green Mountain.
The analysts had a bad view of the deal. Kevin Grundy wrote in a note that the challenges for KDP could be similar to those faced by Frito-Lay Inc.
The analysts said in a note to clients on Thursday that KDP has had limited success selling energy drinks and would have lost distribution points under a new owner.
Energy drinks have been bulked up by big beverage companies. As part of a long-term distribution agreement, Pepsi will pay $550 million for a stake in Celsius.
Yiqin Shen assisted.
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