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Failed Coke-Huiyuan deal a lesson to learn

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-04-03 16:26

It looked like a corporate marriage made in heaven: A successful Chinese juice maker, having courted many suitors, finally found a willing partner that also happened to be the world's largest soft drink manufacturer. For the owners of the Chinese company, it would mean a handsome multi-billion yuan dowry; the foreign soft drink maker, meanwhile, would buy its way into a fast-growing and potentially vast market segment that it had so far failed to conquer. It seemed all too good to be true -- and so it was.

Huiyuan Juice and Coca-Cola's dream match, which would have been China's largest-ever foreign buyout, was terminated by regulators on March 18. After six months' consideration, officials said the deal would harm competition and consumer choice. Coke president and CEO Muhtar Kent expressed disappointment but respect for the decision in an official statement. Meanwhile, Huiyuan acknowledged a missed opportunity to promote industry expansion.

Coke's proposed acquisition was a high-profile test for China's new anti-monopoly law, which was introduced last year. Was the decision evidence that the specter of protectionism had arisen and that the law, as skeptics feared, would be used to pander to nationalist sentiment?

Experts suggest the case is not so cut-and-dried. While some observers believe that the government gave in to protectionist instincts, others disagree, noting that China has become more open to M&A this year. In fact, they say, the decision is an example of growing professionalism on the part of Chinese M&A regulators, setting a useful precedent in interpreting China's new anti-monopoly law.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industries)

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