Coke Ends Pursuit of Orangina Deal

The French government struck down Coca-Cola Co.’s bid for French soft drink brand Orangina, saying a takeover would have squeezed competitors out of France. Coca-Cola is ending its pursuit of the deal. The government followed the advice of its Competition Council, a watchdog for monopolies, which rejected Coke’s revised bid to buy the beverage brand from French group Pernod Ricard for $780 million. The decision was the French government’s second blow to Coca-Cola, which has battled for two years to get clearance for the Orangina deal. Last year, the French government blocked Coca-Cola’s original $850-million bid on the grounds it would leave other soft drinks companies--including rival PepsiCo Inc.--without a distributor in the French market for restaurants and hotels. Coke revised its proposal, but Finance Minister Christian Sautter said Coke’s bid still raised too many concerns.