Washington - PepsiCo Inc, the chief rival to Coca-Cola for world domination of the drinks market, Monday offered 6 billion dollars in cash and stock to buy out other shareholders of its two biggest bottlers in North America.
The move represents an about-face from the 1990s, when Coca-Cola and then PepsiCo spun off their capital-intensive bottling operations.
The offers of 29.50 dollars per share for stock it doesnt already own in Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and 23.27 dollars for PepsiAmericas Inc. shares reprsent a 17 per cent premium over closing priceirs on Friday.