China rejects Coke's bid for juice maker
18-03-2009
Coca Cola's bid for mainland company fails. Photo: Reuters.
China has rejected Coca-Cola's US$2.5-billion bid to buy a major mainland juice producer. The purchase of the Huiyuan Juice Group would have been the biggest foreign acquisition of a Chinese company. The Commerce Ministry said the proposed deal was rejected on anti-monopoly grounds. Huiyuan's share price tumbled 19 percent in Hong Kong before trading was suspended. Coca-Cola's bid last September prompted an outcry by nationalists who urged the government to bar foreigners from acquiring one of the country's most successful homegrown brands. Rival juice producers warned that the acquisition would give Coca-Cola too dominant a position in China's beverage market.
