Coca-Cola, which bought Costa for '3.9bn in 2018, has struggled to achieve returns from the investment. Costa posted a '13.8m loss in 2023 on revenue of '1.2bn, even as Coca-Cola took an '85m dividend. CEO James Quincey admitted in July that the chain was 'not quite delivered' on expectations. Lazard is advising on the sale. Founded in London more than five decades ago, Costa operates over 2,700 outlets across the UK and Ireland, making it the second-largest global coffee chain after Starbucks. Rising labour costs, ingredient inflation, and weak consumer demand have weighed heavily on performance since the pandemic. Bain's Special Situations arm, established in 2018 to invest in complex assets, already owns upmarket bakery chain Gail's and was part of the group that took control of PizzaExpress during the pandemic. Other private equity interest in Costa includes TDR Capital, owner of Asda, while Apollo declined to submit a bid. Subscribe to our Newsletter to increase your edge. Don't worry about the news anymore, through our newsletter you'll receive weekly access to what is happening. Join 120,000 other PE professionals today....

We are business professors who recently surveyed more than 400 managers about gender equity. We found that while men and women agree on what gender equity means in principle, they often disagree on what it takes to achieve it. Bridging that gap matters ' without it, well-meaning leaders may take actions that do nothing or even backfire. But when it came to naming specific actions, clear differences emerged. Male managers were more than twice as likely as their female counterparts to think gender equity requires 'extreme' sacrifice. What's more, men were less likely than women to connect everyday workplace behaviors ' such as challenging misogynistic behavior, taking paternity leave and offering a flexible work environment ' with advancing equity. This suggests a problem: If men and women envision the path to equity differently, progress will stall. That's why it's important to remember that gender equity isn't a zero-sum game. Great leadership means building equity into daily practices to create a workplace that works for everyone. Research points to three practical moves leaders can make right now....

Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills and through rugged valleys. That geography also makes it one of the deadliest places in the U.S. for flash flooding. In the early hours of July 4, 2025, a flash flood swept through an area of Hill Country dotted with summer camps and small towns about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio. More than 130 people died in the flooding. The majority of them were in Kerr County, including more than two dozen girls and counselors at one summer camp, Camp Mystic. Dozens more people were still unaccounted for a week later. A river gauge at Hunt, Texas, near Camp Mystic, showed how quickly the river flooded: Around 3 a.m. on July 4, the Guadalupe River was rising about 1 foot every 5 minutes at the gauge, National Weather Service data shows. By 4:30 a.m., it had risen more than 20 feet. As the water moved downstream, it reached Kerrville, where the river rose even faster. Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, and by a wide margin. A colleague and I analyzed data from 1959 to 2019 and found 1,069 people had died in flooding in Texas over those six decades. The next highest total was in Louisiana, with 693....

Texas Hill Country is known for its landscapes, where shallow rivers wind among hills and through rugged valleys. That geography also makes it one of the deadliest places in the U.S. for flash flooding. In the early hours of July 4, 2025, a flash flood swept through an area of Hill Country dotted with summer camps and small towns about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio. More than 120 people died in the flooding. The majority of them were in Kerr County, including more than two dozen girls and counselors at one summer camp, Camp Mystic. Dozens of people were still unaccounted for a week later. A river gauge at Hunt, Texas, near Camp Mystic, showed how quickly the river flooded: Around 3 a.m. on July 4, the Guadalupe River was rising about 1 foot every 5 minutes at the gauge, National Weather Service data shows. By 4:30 a.m., it had risen more than 20 feet. As the water moved downstream, it reached Kerrville, where the river rose even faster. Texas as a whole leads the nation in flood deaths, and by a wide margin. A colleague and I analyzed data from 1959 to 2019 and found 1,069 people had died in flooding in Texas over those six decades. The next highest total was in Louisiana, with 693....