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Coke, P&G call off deal
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September 26, 2001: 10:58 a.m. ET
$4B venture between Dow components to market drinks, snacks ends
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A venture between Coca-Cola Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. to jointly market juice drinks and snacks formally ended Wednesday before it ever got off the ground.
In August, the companies, whose stocks are both components of the Dow Jones industrial average, said they planned to scale back the $4 billion venture significantly, but expected it would go forward in some form.
"We had some further discussions since then, but now we are saying that those talks would no longer continue and we will pursue our businesses independently," Rob Baskin, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, told CNNfn.
The deal, announced in February, would have been a big boost to Cincinnati-based P&G, giving it access to Coke's massive distribution network.
A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G, estimated at that time that the new deal would make its Pringles snacks available in 10 times as many U.S. outlets, for example. In return, Coke would have access to P&G's rich research and development resources. The two companies said at that time that they would work to develop new juices, juice-based beverages and snacks.
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But Coke decided in August that its shareholders would be better served by keeping ownership of its juice brands, which would have been lost in the venture.
Despite the news, Coke (KO: down $0.42 to $47.58, Research, Estimates) shares fell, while P&G (PG: up $0.95 to $71.95, Research, Estimates) shares rose in morning trading. 
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