Basketball star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers on March 23 announced he bought a 10 percent stake in Bodyarmor, a relatively new performance drink based on coconut water, with "2.5 times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink."
The price of his investment was not disclosed, but Forbes magazine estimated it at $4-6 million. BodyArmor launched in 2011 and generated $10 million in revenue over the past 12 months. Sales more than doubled each of the past two years. The company has more than 100 investors, including high-profile athletes Buster Posey and Andrew Luck.
Other media reported Bryant will be the third largest shareholder behind founders Mike Repole and Lance Collins. He will sit on the board of directors but will not be in advertising campaigns.
Apparently looking ahead toward the end of his Hall of Fame basketball career (Bryant has 31,700 career points, placing him fourth highest of all-time), Bryant last year set up Kobe Inc. with a mission "to own and grow brands and ideas that challenge and redefine the sports industry while inspiring the world,” Forbes quoted him. Bodyarmor is his first investment.
