PepsiCo Loses Bid to Revive Coca-Cola Suit

PepsiCo Inc. lost a bid to revive a lawsuit that accused rival Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest soft-drink maker, of violating antitrust laws by forcing distributors to sell only its drinks to retailers.

A two-judge appeals panel affirmed U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska’s September 2000 ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought by the No. 2 soft-drink maker, which claimed that Coca-Cola committed antitrust violations by barring its independent distributors -- which supply restaurant and movie theater chains and other food-service outlets -- from selling Pepsi.

A spokesman for Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo said the company was disappointed but planned no further appeals.

Shares of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola fell 8 cents to $44.15 on the New York Stock Exchange. PepsiCo shares, which also trade on the NYSE, rose 41 cents to $42.41.