The Coca-Cola Co on the march?

By: Michelle Russell - 1 November 2010 15:29

There is market chatter that The Coca-Cola Co might be tempted to acquire Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated.

Brian Polino, a senior finance major at the University of Florida, makes a pretty convincing case for Coca-Cola to acquire Coca-Cola Bottling Co in the US.

A deal would certainly seem to fit Coca-Cola's stated aim of integrating its business in North America more closely, and, of course, it follows the firm's buyout of Coca-Cola Enterprises in the region.

However, some analysts have said that Coca-Cola might not be interested in directly owning bottling operations over the longer term.

"Coca-Cola's new plan is an intermediate step," said analyst group Stifel Nicolaus following the firm's deal for CCE. "Next-step options include Coke FEMSA, Coke's largest bottler in Mexico, in our opinion," Stifel said at the time.