The Coca-Cola Company announced in March 2007 that its Brazilian unit had purchased Leão Junior and its flagship Matte Leão ready-to-drink tea brand, as well as the company’s three factories in southern Brazil.
Despite the overall approval, Cade ruled that Coca-Cola must sell its local Nestea ice tea brand to avoid market concentration. Cade didn’t unveil a timetable for the sale.
The Coca-Cola Company owns Nestea jointly with Nestlé SA, which puts Coca-Cola’s share of the local RTD tea market at more than 70%.
Matte Leão is Brazil’s leading maker of ready-to-drink teas. At the end of 2006 – the latest data available – Matte Leão held a 45.7% share of the RTD tea market, compared with AmBev-distributed Lipton at 24.7% and Nestea at 24.4%.
Source: Dow Jones
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