P&G;, Coca-Cola Halt Snacks, Juice Venture

Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. said they scuttled plans to form a joint venture to sell and develop snacks and juice drinks.

The announcement comes eight months after the companies unveiled a venture that would have combined P&G; brands Pringles potato chips and Sunny Delight juice drinks with Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid juices and Hi-C, Five-Alive and Fruitopia drinks. Sources familiar with the process said that Coca-Cola found its juice drinks were growing faster than Sunny Delight and Pringles.

P&G;, based in Cincinnati, still stands behind Pringles and will look for other ways to boost distribution, a spokeswoman said.

Coca-Cola will consider other options, which could include acquisitions or developing drinks internally, a spokesman said.

Procter & Gamble shares closed up 13 cents at $71.13, and Coca-Cola fell $1.11 to $46.89, both on the NYSE.