Hansen Natural, manufacturers of Monster energy drink, could be working on a new distribution deal with beverage giant Coca-Cola, according to reports.

Coca-Cola already owns its own energy drink, Full Throttle, and has a distribution deal with Rockstar Energy Drink, so it’s unclear what might change with the distribution of those brands if the deal were to go through. St. Louis based investment analyst Mark Astrachan commented on the potential outcome, “A deal would result in meaningful market share up for grabs, in our view, as Rockstar would likely lose distribution access to the Coke system and Full Throttle is de-emphasized.”

If confirmed, the deal would also give Hansen access to the strong European presence that Coca-Cola has established, according to Stiefel Nicolaus, a colleague of Astrachan. Nicolaus went on to comment on the energy drink market at large, “We further believe Coke’s potential interest in Hansen affirms our view that the energy drink category is not a fad and that it is likely to maintain positive growth over a sustained period.”

According to recent NBJ Sports Nutrition & Weight Loss estimates, the energy drink market grew 25% in 2007 and is now worth more than $9.9 billion in the U.S.