The international food and beverage giant Yum! Brands plans to acquire an additional 7.3% stake in the Chinese hot pot restaurant chain Little Sheep after taking a stake of over 20% in the company earlier this year. According to a report published by Little Sheep, Yum! has made provisional plans to buy 75,042,456 shares at the [...]

Pepsico and AmBev - a Cola and a Beer, Together?

Tony Daltorio, The Investment U Research Team

According to a recent research study for the Financial Times prepared by the consulting firm Wolff Olins, the world’s next top brands are set to rise in the east. A strategist at Wolff Olins, Melanie McShane, stated that “It used to be possible to be a global brand by dominating the US market. That’s changing rapidly. Now you have to be number one in Asia.”

The findings of the Wolff Olins research echo research by the US-based consulting firm, Bain & Co. Their research estimated that one-third of the FT Global 500 companies could come from emerging markets by 2015 thanks to what it calls a “seismic shift” away from developed markets.

A partner with Bain & Co. said that established western consumer

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Coca Cola Co. (KO) reported first-quarter earnings per share of 65 cents, excluding items, which was in-line with the consensus estimate.

Sales declined 3% year-over-year to $7.2 billion, due to bottling divestitures coupled with strengthening of the US dollar.

The beverage giant's worldwide case volumes declined 2% year-over-year, as it tackled one of the worst recessions in several decades.

Analysts have adopted a wait-and-see approach with the company as the full-year consensus has remained stagnant at $3.09 over the past 30 days.

Meanwhile, archrival PepsiCo (PEP) reported first-quarter earnings of 71 cents per share yesterday, topping the consensus by 4 cents. The world's second-largest soft drinks maker has also offered $6 billion for sole control of its two largest bottlers.

KO, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock, has declined more than 2% so far today amid higher-than-usual volume of more than 10 million, compared to average volume

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The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it will buy China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. for $2.3 billion (HK$17.9 billion) in an effort to diversify its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing beverage markets. But the deal still requires government approval, which is anything but guaranteed. Coca-Cola’s offer of $1.56 per share (HK$12.20) is more than triple China Huiyuan’s recent closing price of HK$4.14 a share. It is the company’s largest overseas acquisition to date, and the biggest foreign takeover of a Chinese company ever. The deal values Huiyuan at 46.6 times this year’s estimated earnings, according to Bloomberg data. "It’s a sizeable offer, but certainly a very smart one," said Lou Basenese, editor of the Oxford Club’s Takeover Trader. "It’s better than building everything from ground zero. It’s a shortcut into a promising market." By 2025, ...