PepsiCo has announced that it will acquire a two-thirds stake in Moscow-based dairy and beverage company Wimm-Bill-Dann for $3.8 billion in cash. The deal is one of the largest deals by an American company in Russia, according to The New York Times.
The move by Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi, the world’s second-largest soft drink maker after archrival Coca-Cola, follows the completion of Coke’s acquisition of Russian juice maker Nidan earlier this year. The deal also takes place in the wake of revelations by WikiLeaks showing Western diplomats likening Russia to a “mafia state” beset by corruption and organized crime.
