March 21 2008, 15:35

PepsiCo buys "Lebedyanskiy", Coca-Cola buys "Whimm-Bill-Dann"

After PepsiCo purchased 75.53% of Opened JSC "Lebedyanskiy" for $ 1.357 billion, Coca-Cola may respond to the main competitor's step by the purchase of the juice business of "Whimm-Bill-Dann" company, "Kommersant" informs.

The purchase of "Lebedyanskiy" company makes PepsiCo the leader of Russian juice market with the share of 30.6%. Coca-Cola plans to retrieve the leader's position (the market share of Coca-Cola's "Multon" is 21.1%); in this regard the company negotiates the purchase of "Whimm-Bill-Dann" juice business.

According to information provided by the distributors to the newspaper journalists, Coca-Cola ordered the "monthly monitoring" of the sales of juice brands of "Whimm-Bill-Dann".

The source close to "Whimm-Bill-Dann" shareholders specified that "the negotiations (about the sales of "Whimm-Bill-Dann" juice business) have become more active during the recent two months".

"Out of three juice plants of "Whimm-Bill-Dann" company Coca-Cola is interested only in the enterprise in Ramenskoye, Moscow suburb, and J7 brand", the newspaper quotes the source.

David Yakobashvili, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, "Whimm-Bill-Dann" company, announced that "nobody of Coca-Cola management addressed such topic to him personally". Coca-Cola made no comments.

The analysts point out that "after such a deal Russian beverage market might get into hands of two trans-national companies".