Three European Coca-Cola bottlers to merge

London

THREE European bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks have agreed to merge in what will be one of the continent's largest consumer products deals ever, as they hope greater scale and cost cutting will revitalise sluggish soft-drink sales.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) said on Thursday that it would combine with Coca-Cola Iberian Partners (CCIP) and the German bottling business of Coca-Cola to create a new company that will be the world's largest independent bottler of Coke drinks by net revenue, with business in 13 countries including Spain, France and Britain.

The transaction will give the new company, Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), a value of 28 billion euros (S$42.4 billion) including debt, a s…