Pepsi Bottling rejects PepsiCo buyout

Pepsi Bottling Group has rejected an offer from the worldÔÇÖs second biggest manufacturer of soft drinks, PepsiCo, to buy stakes in its two biggest bottlers for $6 billion.┬á ┬áPepsi Bottling Group has criticized the $29.50 per share offer, which values the company at $6.49 billion, as "grossly inadequate". ┬á PepsiCo spun off Pepsi Bottling in 1999 and currently owns 33 percent of it. ┬á The other bottler PepsiCo is trying to buy is Pepsi Americas, of which it owns 43 percent.  The price it offered represented a 17% premium above their closing share prices the Friday before the offers were made. ┬á Pepsi Bottling says its board's decision was based on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee.┬á The company stated in a letter that it values its relationship with PepsiCo, but would not agree to a deal that doesn't reflect its "true value."┬á