Coca-Cola to Buy Dr Pepper Co.

The Coca-Cola Co., the nation’s largest soft-drink company, today said it has agreed to buy No. 4 Dr Pepper Co. for $470 million.

In a statement from its Atlanta headquarters, Coca-Cola said the agreement to buy Dr Pepper from its owners, the investment firm of Forstmann Little & Co. and senior company executives, included the repayment of $170 million in debt owed by Dr Pepper. The purchase is subject to the approval of the federal government and the Coca-Cola board of directors.