Coke's Acquisition Woes Overseas
作为一个美国的标志，要顺利完成环球巡游并不容易。Associated Press据饮料行业刊物Beverage Digest的数据，可口可乐(Coca-Cola Co.)占据全球软饮料市场50.5%的份额。鉴于软饮料市场增长开始放缓，可口可乐一直在全球陆续收购果汁饮用水和其他非碳酸饮料生产商，以扩大其业务种类，对抗竞争对手。不过，该公司这方面的努力有些时却在外国监管机构那里遭遇惨败。公司收购汇源果汁(Huiyuan)的计划周三被中国政府驳回就是最新一例。这起交易本会成为可口可乐历史上最大规模的海外收购案，如能实现，将为可口可乐带来两方面的收获：一是扩大其在中国这个全球最大市场的业务，同时，强化其在重要的非软饮料领域的业务。这次挫败让人想起可口可乐1999年试图收购Orangina的遭遇。法国政府阻止了该公司从Pernod-Ricard手中收购这个畅销品牌，否则，收购后可口可乐将占据58%的法国市场。可口可乐的主要竞争对手百事可乐(PepsiCo)在这件事上起到了关键作用，它向监管部门抱怨说，这起收购将减少法国市场上的竞争。当年晚些时候，可口可乐收购吉百利(Cadbury Schweppes)在美国法国和南非以外市场软饮料业务的计划，在欧洲再次遭到强烈抵制，原因是人们担心这样将使可口可乐主宰各国的本地软饮料市场。后来，可口可乐和吉百利修改了协议，剔除了大部分欧盟成员国，并将收购价下调41%至11亿美元，最后又下调到7.05亿美元才达成交易。外界普遍认为，这些挫败是公司首席执行长英维斯特(M. Douglas Ivester) 1999年年底离职的原因之一。正是他顽固坚持的并购导致可口可乐与外国监管部门“交恶”。2002年，可口可乐重塑公司形象，使其在外国政府眼中不再那么具有威胁性。可口可乐公司一直在努力树立中国之友的形像。现任首席执行长肯特(Muhtar Kent)最近曾到访上海，为公司未来三年在中国市场的20亿美元投资计划做宣传。一些分析师认为，此举是为其汇源收购计划铺路。可以肯定的是，可口可乐可以将原本准备用于收购汇源的24亿美元资金用于别的项目。可口可乐周三表示，那些投资计划没有改变，涉及分销营销和建设新厂等内容。从过往经历看，可口可乐不会因为前进道路上遇到几个小坑而停止脚步。Heidi Moore相关阅读中国拒绝可口可乐的理由很“商业” 2009-03-19可口可乐收购汇源交易商务部裁决声明 2009-03-19中国政府否决可口可乐收购汇源果汁 2009-03-19汇源判决：反垄断还是保护？ 2009-03-19商务部赢了战斗输掉战役 2009-03-19中国商务部驳回可口可乐收购汇源计划 2009-03-18 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年03月19日12:26', 'KO'));可口可乐公司英文名称：Coca-Cola Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：KOdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年03月19日12:26', 'CBY'));Cadbury PLC (ADS)总部地点：英国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：CBYdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年03月19日12:26', 'PEP'));百事公司英文名称：PepsiCo Inc.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：PEPdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年03月19日12:26', 'CBRY.LN'));吉百利食品有限公司英文名称：Cadbury PLC总部地点：英国上市地点：伦敦股票代码：CBRY
It isn't easy being an America icon on a world tour.Coca-Cola Co. (KO) has 50.5% of the world soft-drink market, according to Beverage Digest data. With growth in the sector slowing, the Atlanta drinks giant has been steadily acquiring makers of juice, water, and other noncarbonated drinks around the world to broaden its portfolio and beat back competitors. But its efforts have included some pretty high-profile defeats at the hands of foreign regulators.The latest is Wednesday's rejection of Coca-Cola's bid for China's Huiyuan juice company, a deal that would have been Coke's largest overseas acquisition and which would have provided Coke with a two-pronged victory: expanding its presence in one of the world's largest markets, China, and in that vital nonsoft-drinks category.It is a defeat reminiscent of Coke's 1999 attempt to buy Orangina. The French government barred Coke from buying the fizzy brand from Pernod-Ricard (12069.FR), a deal that would have boosted Coke's share of the French market to 58%. Playing a role was archrival PepsiCo (PEP), which complained to regulators that the deal would have reduced competition in the French market.Later that same year, Coke ran into stiff resistance from European regulators on its proposed $1.85 billion purchase of Cadbury Schweppes' (CBY) soft-drinks businesses outside the U.S., France and South Africa over fears the transaction would give Coke a lock on local soft-drink markets. Coke and Cadbury eventually revised their agreement to exclude most European Union member countries and slashed the price 41% to $1.1 billion, and then revised it again, finally completing a $705 million sale.Such missteps were widely held to have contributed to the late-1999 departure of CEO M. Douglas Ivester, with his persistent M&A attempts putting Coke squarely on a collision course with overseas regulators. In 2002, Coke undertook an image revamp to make itself look less threatening to foreign governments.Coke had worked hard to cultivate an image as a friend of China. Current CEO Muhtar Kent had traveled to Shanghai recently to tout plans to invest $2 billion in Coke's China operations in the next three years, a move that some analysts saw as trying to smooth the way for the Huiyuan Juice deal.Certainly Coke can find a way to redeploy the $2.4 billion it was going to spend on Huiyuan Juice. And Coke on Wednesday said there would be no change in those investment plans, which involve distribution, marketing and a new plant, among other things. As history has shown, a few potholes won't stop Coke's world tour.Heidi Moore
It isn't easy being an America icon on a world tour.Coca-Cola Co. (KO) has 50.5% of the world soft-drink market, according to Beverage Digest data. With growth in the sector slowing, the Atlanta drinks giant has been steadily acquiring makers of juice, water, and other noncarbonated drinks around the world to broaden its portfolio and beat back competitors. But its efforts have included some pretty high-profile defeats at the hands of foreign regulators.The latest is Wednesday's rejection of Coca-Cola's bid for China's Huiyuan juice company, a deal that would have been Coke's largest overseas acquisition and which would have provided Coke with a two-pronged victory: expanding its presence in one of the world's largest markets, China, and in that vital nonsoft-drinks category.It is a defeat reminiscent of Coke's 1999 attempt to buy Orangina. The French government barred Coke from buying the fizzy brand from Pernod-Ricard (12069.FR), a deal that would have boosted Coke's share of the French market to 58%. Playing a role was archrival PepsiCo (PEP), which complained to regulators that the deal would have reduced competition in the French market.Later that same year, Coke ran into stiff resistance from European regulators on its proposed $1.85 billion purchase of Cadbury Schweppes' (CBY) soft-drinks businesses outside the U.S., France and South Africa over fears the transaction would give Coke a lock on local soft-drink markets. Coke and Cadbury eventually revised their agreement to exclude most European Union member countries and slashed the price 41% to $1.1 billion, and then revised it again, finally completing a $705 million sale.Such missteps were widely held to have contributed to the late-1999 departure of CEO M. Douglas Ivester, with his persistent M&A attempts putting Coke squarely on a collision course with overseas regulators. In 2002, Coke undertook an image revamp to make itself look less threatening to foreign governments.Coke had worked hard to cultivate an image as a friend of China. Current CEO Muhtar Kent had traveled to Shanghai recently to tout plans to invest $2 billion in Coke's China operations in the next three years, a move that some analysts saw as trying to smooth the way for the Huiyuan Juice deal.Certainly Coke can find a way to redeploy the $2.4 billion it was going to spend on Huiyuan Juice. And Coke on Wednesday said there would be no change in those investment plans, which involve distribution, marketing and a new plant, among other things. As history has shown, a few potholes won't stop Coke's world tour.Heidi Moore