By Shashwat Awasthi (Reuters) -Shares of Fevertree Drinks surged almost 24% after Molson Coors took an 8.5% stake in a $88 million deal that gives the beer giant exclusive rights to market the British company's cocktail mixers and tonic water in the United States.

Molson Coors has acquired an 8.5% stake in British drinks company Fever Tree in a £71m deal that enables the mixer brand to “unlock growth” across the US.

The London-listed mixer-maker said Molson Coors would acquire an 8.5% shareholding in Fevertree.