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Pepsi, Quaker deal close?
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November 30, 2000: 7:31 p.m. ET
Report: PepsiCo in advanced talks to buy Quaker Oats for $14.3 billion
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - PepsiCo Inc. is close to wrapping up a $14.3 billion stock deal for Quaker Oats Co., according to a published report Thursday.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal interactive edition said the companies are close on all major points and a deal could be completed in the next few days. The article said if a deal is agreed to over the weekend, it will be announced Monday.
Shares of Quaker jumped on Tuesday amid unconfirmed speculation the companies had resumed discussions.
Pepsi (PEP: Research, Estimates) has already walked away once from merger talks with the owner of Gatorade sports drinks, but left a nearly $14 billion acquisition offer on the table that many analysts thought Quaker would eventually reconsider.
Both Coca-Cola Co. (KO: Research, Estimates) and French food conglomerate Danone (DA: Research, Estimates) expressed interest, but both publicly said they were no longer interested in acquiring the company.
Allison Harmon, communication director for Quaker Oats, said it is not the company's policy to comment on rumors or speculation.
Officials for Pepsi were not available for comment.
Pepsi, the world's No. 2 soft drink concern, first approached Quaker Oats about a merger earlier this month, offering to swap 2.2 shares of its stock for each Quaker Oats share, a ratio that valued the food conglomerate at $103.54 per share, or roughly $13.7 billion, at that time. Pepsi walked away from the discussions after Quaker Oats demanded a "collar," or price protection mechanism to guard its shareholders against a sudden drop in Pepsi's stock, as part of any agreement.
According to the Journal the ratio is now 2.3 shares of Pepsi for each Quaker share, bringing the total value to $14.3 billion.
Pepsi's initial failure to complete a deal opened the door for rival Coca-Cola, which also ultimately walked away from an agreement when its board balked at taking on Quaker's slow-growth food operations in addition to Quaker's prize gem, the fast-growing Gatorade.
Shares of Quaker fell 94 cents to $86.94 on the New York Stock Exchange in Thursday trading. 
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