The European Commission has granted clearance
under the European Union's merger control law to the proposed acquisition by Cadbury S
chweppes Plc of the soft drinks brands and related businesses of Pernod Ricard SA. The proposed transaction does not give rise to any competition concerns in the market for soft
drinks, given the existence of strong competing international brands of soft
drinks in Europe, such as The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo International, Unilever, Groupe D
...[+++]anone and Nestlé, as well as of local brands.