Irvine-based beverage company True Drinks Holdings Inc. raised $5.2 million through a sale of convertible preferred stock.
The company makes health-oriented flavored water and energy drinks. Its distributors include large grocers and other stores, including Walgreens.
True Drinks will make 5% interest payments on the preferred shares on a quarterly basis.
“The infusion of fresh capital will … [enable] us to quickly activate a comprehensive marketing campaign,” said Chief Executive Lance Leonard, a Nestlé veteran who joined True Drinks last year.
The company is a startup of sorts, with recent rebranding efforts and commercialization of its flagship product, AquaBall.
Shares of True Drinks trade over the counter and recently had a market value of $8.9 million.
The company had $2.2 million in sales through the first nine months of the year, versus about $846,000 a year earlier. It lost $5.2 million this year through September, compared with a loss of $1.9 million a year ago.
—Jane Yu
