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Chinese firms try to block Coke's juice company takeover: report
Shanghai (AFP) Sept 15, 2008 A group of Chinese drinks makers are to submit plans to the government they hope will block Coca-Cola's takeover of China Huiyuan Juice Group, state media reported Monday. A consortium has prepared three plans and handed them to the Ministry of Commerce to keep the Huiyuan brand in Chinese hands, the Beijing Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified official at one of the companies. The ministry says it will review the proposed 2.4 billion-dollar friendly takeover of the Hong Kong-listed company, according to the principles of a market-oriented economy. If approved, the takeover would be the largest by a foreign firm of a Chinese company and Coca-Cola's second largest acquisition ever. Commerce ministry officials were not available for comment Monday and a Coca-Cola spokesman said the company would not comment on the government review process. The consortium's proposals include breaking up Huiyuan and selling it to different Chinese firms or purchasing it with a yuan-denominated fund set up by domestic companies, the newspaper reported. Another proposal would see the government giving the green light to the merger but retain the name and then sell it on to Chinese companies, the report said. "It's not because of narrow nationalist feelings," the report quoted an unnamed official from one of the consortium companies as saying. He suggested the deal could kill a champion Chinese brand if allowed to go ahead. Huiyuan's three major shareholders, who own more than two thirds of the company's stock, have already accepted the US company's offer but analysts have said the deal would be a litmus test of China's anti-monopoly law, which took effect last month. Huiyuan Vice President Wu Yuqiang said last week that Coca-Cola was still preparing to file an application to the Ministry of Commerce, the Xinhua news agency reported. By the end of June, Huiyuan held a 43.8 percent market share of China's pure juice sector, while it also held 42.4 percent of the country's nectars market, the company said, citing a market survey by ACNielsen. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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