DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) said it has withdrawn and will refile papers
with the Federal Trade Commission to give the agency more time to
review its plan to pay $7.8 billion for the shares it doesn't own
in its two biggest bottlers.
The food-and-beverage giant agreed in August to buy the shares
of Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (PBG) and PepsiAmericas Inc. (PAS). By
taking its big U.S. bottlers in-house, PepsiCo has said it will be
able to cut costs and deal more directly with stores, helping to
strengthen its dominance over Coca-Cola Co. (KO) in noncarbonated
drinks.
The refiling will give the FTC an additional 30 days to review
PepsiCo's proposal under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act of 1976.
PepsiCo originally filed the forms Sept. 11. It plans to refile
them Thursday, which would extend the FTC's deadline to Nov.
16.
PepsiCo's shares rose 1 cent to $60.60 in after-hours trading,
while Pepsi Bottling shares fell 0.3% to $37.14 and PepsiAmericas'
slid 0.3% to $29.05.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com