|
Pepsi deal raises questions
|
 |
May 10, 2001: 2:09 p.m. ET
FTC worried about Pepsi's potential dominance of drink market
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Federal Trade Commission has major concerns about PepsiCo Inc.'s plans to acquire Quaker Oats Co., an agency official told Reuters Thursday, but a Pepsi spokesman said there are no indications from regulators that the deal is in trouble.
Investigators at the agency's competition bureau reportedly fear the deal will enable Pepsi (PEP: up $0.14 to $45.68, Research, Estimates) to leverage Quaker Oats' (OAT: down $1.60 to $96.20, Research, Estimates) dominant Gatorade sports drink to gain undue advantage over other drink manufacturers.
"There's significant hand-wringing going on," a source at the agency said.
But a Pepsi spokesman said that, as recently as Thursday morning, FTC� officials gave no indication that the commission was planning to block the merger.
"We are continuing our dialogue with the commission to reach a mutually acceptable outcome," Pepsi spokesman Dick Detwiler told Reuters. A Quaker spokesman declined to comment.�
The agency's five-member commission, which must assess whether the deal complies with anti-trust laws, is scheduled to vote in the next several weeks on whether it should go to court to block the deal.
PepsiCo shareholders have approved the $13.8 billion merger, which was announced in December, on May 1, and the deal received clearance from European authorities in March.
Pepsi scored a coup over chief rival Coca-Cola Co. (KO: down $0.10 to $45.66, Research, Estimates) with the Quaker deal, bringing Gatorade into its portfolio. Gatorade is by far the dominant brand in the fast-growing sports drink category. 
- from staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
