Coca-Cola to buy mainland juicemaker for $2.3b

Coca-Cola has offered to buy China Huiyuan Juice Group, China’s biggest maker of pure fruit juice, for US$2.3 billion in cash, Bloomberg reported, citing a statement filed by the Chinese company with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Coca-Cola unit Atlantic Industries offered to buy Huiyuan at HK$12.20 (US$1.56) per share and will buy all outstanding convertible bonds in the company. Huiyuan’s stock closed at HK$4.14 (US$0.53) on August 29 before the stock was suspended. The company has lost about half of its market value this year. Huiyuan said there would be "anticipated synergies" between Huiyuan’s production and Coca-Cola’s distribution and raw material purchasing capacities.