Coca-Cola files application for Chinese juice company takeover

BEIJING: US drinks giant Coca-Cola said on Monday it had filed an application with the Chinese government for its controversial takeover of juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group.

"I can confirm that we have submitted our application with the Ministry of Commerce," Kenth Kaerhoeg, Coca-Cola's spokesman in Hong Kong, said.

"This means that the filing process has started and we are working in full cooperation with the regulators," he said.
Coca-Cola announced earlier this month plans to buy Hong Kong-listed Huiyuan, which controls more than 40 percent of the Chinese market for pure juice, for 2.4 billion dollars.

If approved, it would be the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese company and Coca-Cola's second largest acquisition.
However, a consortium of local drinks companies reportedly plan to block the deal.

The commerce ministry has said it would review the takeover according to the principles of a market-oriented economy.
Analysts have said the deal would be a litmus test of China's anti-monopoly law, which took effect last month.