SodaStream’s Daniel Birnbaum (Getty Images)
SodaStream’s efforts to sell itself are fast losing their fizz, The Post has learned.
While CEO Daniel Birnbaum has said he aims to shake up the multibillion-dollar market for carbonated drinks, behind the scenes the maker of do-it-yourself soda machines has been seeking a buyer for at least three months, sources said.
“It’s been very low-key,” said one source who was approached about a possible sale, adding that there was no formal auction.
The Israel-based company is working with Rothschild as its informal adviser. Birnbaum declined to comment.
Still, SodaStream, which projects annual revenue will rise from $550 million this year to $1 billion by 2016, has been having a tough time attracting interest.
PepsiCo was only interested in part of SodaStream’s business — refilling carbon dioxide containers — and not the actual consumer appliance, one source said.
Last month, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi denied an Israeli newspaper report that Pepsi was in talks to buy SodaStream, calling it “totally and completely untrue.”
“I interpreted the denial as being they never made an offer, as opposed to they were not looking,” one source said.
SodaStream’s shares have been on a roller-coaster ride since the Pepsi report, rising as high as $77.80. The shares fell 3.4 percent yesterday to close at $65.36.
A Pepsi spokesman declined to comment to The Post, which reported in December that Pepsi was trying to find a way to create an in-home carbonated business.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola isn’t interested in acquiring SodaStream.
SodaStream’s sales talk is falling flat at a time when investors and analysts are mixed on its prospects. “I’m still not convinced this will be a permanent fixture in American households,” a source said.
One SodaStream analyst disagreed, saying that the company was just starting to sell its canisters in grocery and drug stores.